How to Get Rid of an Old Mattress in Australia (The Options That Actually Work)

Getting rid of an old mattress is surprisingly difficult, and that is before you factor in the time pressure of a moving day that is rigidly timed and usually on short notice. Mattresses are bulky, councils will not collect them without a booking, and the booking lead time rarely lines up with when you actually need the mattress gone.

Before you make any calls, check the label on your mattress. Many Australian mattress brands, particularly the mattress-in-a-box brands like Koala, Emma, and Sleeping Duck, run their own recycling programmes. Searching the brand name plus “recycling Australia” takes thirty seconds and could save you the trouble of arranging anything else. If that does not apply, read on.

To book a rubbish removal job through Urgent Pro for a mattress or a full property clearance, the booking takes a few minutes and collection can be arranged within one to three business days.

A Mattress Is Not Normal Household Waste

A mattress is classified as bulky waste by most councils in Australia and will not be collected by a standard household bin service. The springs can damage landfill compactors, and the foam takes a very long time to break down. Both are good reasons the waste industry treats mattresses differently.

The good news is that a mattress is also one of the most recyclable large items in a home. Steel springs, foam, timber, and fabric can all be recovered and put to use again. Steel is sold as scrap, foam is compressed for use in products such as carpet underlay and insulation, and timber frames are chipped. In most metropolitan areas, diverting a mattress from landfill is genuinely easy to arrange.

Option 1: Council Hard Rubbish Collection

Council hard rubbish collection is a free service available to most Australian residents. Mattresses are considered hard rubbish and are accepted in most councils. For how this works city by city, including what else councils typically pick up, see hard rubbish collection for mattresses and other bulky items.

The service is only available on request. Not all councils offer it, and those that do generally require you to request a specific pickup for your address. You have no control over the exact collection time on the day, and during busy periods the wait for a booking slot can be up to six weeks.

To arrange it, call your council’s waste hotline or visit their website. Confirm mattresses are accepted for your area. Once your booking is confirmed, place the mattress flat on the kerbside no earlier than 24 hours before the collection date. Make sure it does not block the footpath or any stormwater drains.

Placing a mattress on the kerb outside your booked collection window is illegal dumping in most Australian jurisdictions and can attract substantial fines. Always confirm your collection date before putting anything out, and only place items on the kerb when the booking is confirmed.

Works best for households that can plan collection several weeks in advance.

Option 2: Drive It to a Transfer Station

Driving your mattress to your nearest council transfer station is the fastest self-managed option if you have a suitable vehicle. Most stations accept mattresses seven days a week during operating hours without an appointment.

Fees are typically charged on a per-mattress basis and collected at the conclusion of your visit. Ring your local station ahead of time for the current rate as fees are reviewed regularly and vary between councils and states. In most metro areas the fee for a single mattress runs from around $10 to $30, though regional stations are often cheaper.

Ask the station staff whether there is a dedicated mattress recycling area. Where one exists, choosing that over the general landfill bay is the better outcome at the same cost.

Works best for households that can make a same-day trip with a vehicle large enough to carry the mattress.

Option 3: Mattress Recycling Programmes

Soft Landing is the most well-known mattress recycling programme in Australia, operating across most states and continuing to expand. The programme dismantles mattresses manually and mechanically, recovering materials including steel, foam, timber, and fibre, and diverting up to 90 per cent of mattress materials from landfill.

To use the programme, find a drop-off location near you via the Soft Landing website or your state’s environment protection authority. Some locations do not accept oversized or custom mattresses, so check beforehand. Drop-off fees are typically in the range of $15 to $40. Some locations also offer a paid collection service if you cannot transport the mattress yourself.

If you are purchasing a new mattress through a retailer, ask at the point of sale. Many larger retailers now offer to take back the old mattress when they deliver the new one, sometimes at no extra charge.

Works best for eco-conscious households near a drop-off location who have a means of transport.

Option 4: Donate It

Mattress donation is worth considering if your mattress is relatively new, clean, and in genuinely good condition. The Salvation Army, Vinnies, and similar organisations may accept it. Always call ahead to confirm, as many charities have become more selective about mattress donations given the cost of processing items they cannot resell.

Works best for mattresses being replaced for preference rather than wear, in clean and undamaged condition.

Option 5: Booked Rubbish Removal Service

This option solves the timing problem that catches most people out when moving house.

A booked rubbish removal service collects the mattress from your property on a date you choose, typically within one to three business days of booking. The crew does the lifting and carrying from wherever the mattress is located. This is especially important for upper-floor mattress removal. Mattresses are awkward to grip and difficult to navigate around corners and down stairs. Attempting this without help is a common cause of back injury and dropped furniture. Removal crews are trained and insured for exactly this work.

For landlords or tenants clearing a rental property, the booked service is often the only option that guarantees removal before the deadline. For more on what needs to go and in what order, see the article on clearing a rental property before the final inspection.

Adding other items to the same booking significantly improves the value. A mattress removed alongside a bed frame, old furniture, and general household rubbish from a move is much better value per item than arranging separate collections for each.

The minimum rate for rubbish removal through Urgent Pro starts from $220 per job. A single mattress may fall at or near the minimum scope. Combining it with a broader property clearance brings the per-item cost down considerably.

For the rubbish removal service in Perth, mattress collection is one of the most common single-item jobs across the metro area, partly because of the high volume of end-of-tenancy clearing work in the city. Providers on the Urgent Pro network in Perth are locally owned and operated, not national contractors.

Works best for anyone moving house, clearing a rental property, or working to a hard deadline.

Can a Mattress Go in a Skip Bin?

Not always. Some skip bin hire companies exclude mattresses from their standard hire conditions because of the volume they take up and their recycling obligations. If you are hiring a skip for other waste and want to include the mattress, check with the hire company when you book and declare the mattress upfront.

If mattresses are excluded, a booked rubbish removal service is the practical alternative. For a full comparison of when a skip bin makes sense versus a booked service, see the article on skip bin vs booked rubbish removal.

The Moving House Timing Problem

Mattress disposal is almost always left to the last minute, usually because people assume council hard rubbish collection will handle it in time. It usually does not.

Council collection is the cheapest option, but the date you get is not the date you need. If your lease ends on a specific day, council collection only works if you booked weeks in advance and the allocated date falls before handover. That is rarely how it plays out.

Removalists handle furniture going to your new address. They do not handle items going to disposal. A mattress being discarded is a separate booking from the removalist job, and needs to be factored into the move plan separately. For information about what the removalist booking covers, see the page about house removalists handling your move.

When planning a move, keep these points in mind:

• If you are taking the mattress to your new home, tell the removalists when they come to quote. It affects the truck size and carrying scope.
• If the mattress is being disposed of, book the rubbish removal for the day before your final inspection or handover, not after.
• If you are taking one mattress and disposing of another, sequence the removal service to happen after the other items have been loaded.

A Quick Comparison

All price ranges are indicative for 2026 and vary by city, mattress size, and provider.

Mattresses are accepted as part of standard clearances by rubbish removal providers across all five cities Urgent Pro operates in. Providers are locally owned and operated in each city, not national franchisees.