Mattress Disposal in Detroit (2026): Free Curbside Bulk

Item: Mattress and box spring (foundation), collected as bulky household waste. Bed frames and headboards are ordinary bulky furniture; crib mattresses, mattress toppers and adjustable bases have no separately published rule. Jurisdiction: City of Detroit, inside the DPW Solid Waste Division residential curbside service area (Wayne County, Michigan). Suburban Wayne County cities and townships — Dearborn, Livonia, Westland, Taylor, Canton and others — run their own haulers and use the Wayne County hazardous waste program instead. Official sources: City of Detroit DPW (Bulk & Yard Waste hub, Free Dumping for Detroiters, Free Citizen Bulk Drop Off Centers, Paid Pick-Up Bulk Collection Service, Solid Waste Guidelines for Residential Properties, Keep Detroit Clean, Household Hazardous Waste Information), City of Detroit DPW news releases, Michigan EGLE, Mattress Recycling Council, Wayne County, IKEA US, Mattress Firm. Last verified: September 2026 · Next review: December 2026

Quick answer

In the City of Detroit, a mattress and its box spring are named accepted bulk household waste — collected as bulk, not as household trash and not as household hazardous waste. Within the limit, set it at the curb in front of your own household, in a separate pile, on your scheduled bulk collection day, at no per-item charge. Curbside bulk is included in the residential solid waste service billed on the property tax bill and runs year-round.

Cannot wait, or over the limit? Three DPW Citizen Bulk Drop-Off Centers take bulky items free from Detroit residents with ID — a driver's license, state ID or Detroit ID — capped at 1,000 pounds or 1 cubic yard per person per day. The DPW Paid Pick-Up Bulk Collection Service handles oversized or off-schedule loads.

Confirm two things first: your address's collection day and frequency, because official City pages disagree, and whether the mattress fits the size rule — the general packaging line caps each item at under 4 feet and under 50 pounds, which a full-size mattress (about 6.5 feet long, typically 60–100+ pounds) exceeds.

Two wrong doors to rule out immediately: mattresses are not household hazardous waste, so the DPW HHW facility at 2000 E. Ferry Street will not take one; and Michigan has no mattress recycling program, so no free statewide drop-off exists.

Jurisdiction warning: everything below covers the City of Detroit DPW residential curbside service area. Curbside bulk belongs to the city's residential solid waste service, not to Wayne County. Suburban Wayne County addresses, buildings on private commercial hauling, and businesses follow different rules.

Quick facts: Detroit mattress disposal at a glance

Is your address eligible?

Curbside bulk — including a mattress — is a City of Detroit residential service tied to the solid waste fee on the property tax bill and provided by the city's contract haulers, Waste Management and Priority Waste. Your address must be inside the City of Detroit and on the residential curbside route. The Solid Waste Guidelines describe service to "residential properties" billed through the tax bill, with commercial properties required to arrange private service for a separate fee.

That matters in three cases. Suburban Wayne County addresses (Dearborn, Livonia, Westland, Taylor, Canton and others) are not Detroit customers and use the Wayne County hazardous waste program instead. Apartment and multi-family buildings on private hauling may not receive the City bulk route, and no City page states apartment rules. Businesses and cleanout crews are not covered. Confirm your address with DPW Solid Waste at (313) 876-0004.

The frequency question: weekly or every other week?

The City's own sources do not agree, so verify before setting anything out. Current standing City pages schedule bulk every other week on the trash collection day: the Bulk & Yard Waste hub refers to the "bi-weekly scheduled bulk collection day," Free Dumping for Detroiters says "Biweekly pickup on day of trash pickup," Keep Detroit Clean says bulk items are collected "every other week at the curb," and the Solid Waste Guidelines describe "Two cubic yards of bulk household waste biweekly." City of Detroit DPW news releases from 2025 say the opposite: the March 11, 2025 yard waste release and the June 3 expansion release both state that trash, recycling, bulk and yard waste are collected every week under the 2024 hauler contracts.

Treat the frequency as address-specific and unconfirmed. Settle it for your own block with the City's My Home Info / Waste Pickup Schedule tool; your assigned contractor — Priority Waste (855) 927-8365 for East and Southwest Detroit, Waste Management (844) 233-8764 for the Westside — or DPW Solid Waste (313) 876-0004; or text your street address to (313) 800-7905 for pickup reminders.

Free curbside bulk: what is accepted and how to set it out

Mattresses are a named accepted bulk item on official City pages. Free Dumping for Detroiters lists bulk as "Up to 2 cubic yards (about the size of 2 stoves) of items such as furniture, appliances, mattresses, carpeting, clothes, etc.," with "Year-round service. Biweekly pickup on day of trash pickup." City news copy also lists mattresses among standard bulk items.

Set-out rules: place the mattress at the curb in front of your own property only, never a vacant lot, another home or an alleyway; separate piles, not intermingled with other material; out no earlier than 6 p.m. the day before and no later than 7 a.m. on collection day; roughly 6 feet of separation from the trash and recycling carts is requested. Bulk does not include construction or demolition debris, tires, car parts or hazardous waste.

Two boundaries catch people out. A mattress must not be mixed with yard waste — yard waste goes in paper bags or a labeled container only, because contractors will not collect it in plastic bags (2026 yard waste collection runs March 31–December 19). And appliance rules do not carry over: door removal and refrigerant disposal apply to appliances, not to a mattress. For those items, see the Detroit furniture disposal guide and the Detroit appliance disposal guide.

The size-limit conflict explained

The official figures do not merge into one universal limit:

• Curbside bulk on current standing pages: "up to 2 cubic yards (about the size of 2 stoves)."
• Citizen Drop-Off Centers: "no more than 1,000 pounds or one cubic yard," with a limit of 1,000 pounds of bulk per person per day.
• The general packaging line: all items should be under 4 feet in length and width and weigh less than 50 lbs.

A full-size mattress is about 6.5 feet long and typically 60–100+ pounds, so it exceeds that packaging rule — even though mattresses are named as accepted. No official source states a mattress-specific size, weight or disassembly rule, and no single page reconciles the curbside and drop-off figures.

The practical reading: curbside is probably the 2-cubic-yard figure, and the drop-off centers run on 1,000 lbs or 1 cubic yard per person per day — but confirm before you set out or drive. For a full-size mattress, the safer routes are the Citizen Drop-Off Centers or the paid pickup rather than assuming a curbside crew will take it. Call (313) 876-0004 if unsure.

Free self-haul: the three Citizen Bulk Drop-Off Centers

Detroit residents with proper ID may use the DPW Citizen Bulk Drop-Off Centers free, limited to 1,000 pounds or 1 cubic yard per person per day. Bring a driver's license, state ID or Detroit ID.

• DPW Davison Yard — 7901 W. Davison. Monday–Saturday; April 1–October 31, 8 a.m.–6 p.m.; November 1–March 31, 8 a.m.–4 p.m.
• DPW Southfield Yard — 12255 Southfield Rd. Same hours as Davison.
• DPW J. Fons Yard — 6451 E. McNichols. Monday–Saturday year-round; Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–4 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m.–12 p.m.

Not accepted: household garbage, construction or demolition debris, building materials, chemicals and containers, car or truck parts, fuel tanks, tree logs over 8 inches in diameter or 8 feet long, tires with rims, and more than 4 tires. No commercial vehicles. Confirm seasonal hours before you load, because the yards differ.

Paid city pickup: when you cannot wait or exceed the limit

Submit the Paid Pickup Bulk Collection Request Form or call DPW Solid Waste at (313) 876-0004. A DPW employee responds within 1 business day with an estimate, and most debris types are accepted, including branches, construction and renovation materials and couches.

The price is published two ways; do not merge them. Free Dumping for Detroiters and Keep Detroit Clean publish a flat $40 per cubic yard, paid by credit card, cashier's check or money order (or credit card and cash at a DivDat Kiosk), with pickup within 24 hours of receipt of payment. The dedicated Paid Pick-Up page instead describes a charge based on size and weight. Call (313) 876-0004 for a current quote before paying. One hard condition: the debris must be accessible from the front curb — DPW will not remove it from garages, alleyways or yards.

Paid self-haul: J. Fons Transfer Station

J. Fons Transfer Station, 6451 E. McNichols, (313) 893-6656, is a separate, paid facility accepting commercial vehicles and all debris types, including construction material. Rates are $65 for the first 2,000 lbs and $50 for each additional 2,000 lbs; it does not accept tires, paints, liquids or hazardous waste. Use it for a cleanout or a mixed load the free centers will not take.

Which Detroit mattress route fits your situation?

Retailer haul-away when you are buying a new mattress

Buying a replacement bed is the easiest time to lose the old one — but in Michigan this is a purchase-linked, paid add-on, not a right.

• IKEA US offers in-store mattress removal starting at $30 with a mattress or box spring purchase plus in-home delivery. It is select markets only, not available online, and not guaranteed on the same date or time as the delivery. Nearest store: IKEA Canton, 41640 Ford Road, Canton, MI 48187; check availability at 888-888-4352.
• Mattress Firm describes removal of an old mattress set equal to the number of pieces purchased within its Gold Service tier (listed around $99.99 regular, often shown promotionally free) and Platinum Service ($149.99). Confirm these at purchase — they are promotional and market-dependent.

Michigan is not one of the states (California, Connecticut, Oregon, Rhode Island) where retailers must offer used-mattress removal free with a new purchase, so no free take-back is guaranteed here. Crews may refuse wet, stained, moldy or pest-infested units.

Wrong routes: where a mattress must never go

• The DPW Household Hazardous Waste Receiving Facility, 2000 E. Ferry Street, (313) 923-2240, is open every Thursday 7:30 a.m.–2 p.m. and every fourth Saturday 8 a.m.–2 p.m., free and Detroit residents only — but accepts home toxics and electronics only. Its unacceptable list names appliances, air conditioning units, construction materials and debris, and household trash, and it does not accept bulk or yard waste. A mattress must not be routed there. Keep paint, cleaners, motor oil and batteries out of the mattress pile and take them there separately.
• There is no Michigan mattress recycling program. Michigan has no statewide mattress landfill ban and no mattress EPR or recycling program: mattresses do not appear on EGLE's Part 115 list of landfill-prohibited materials, and the Mattress Recycling Council's Bye Bye Mattress drop-off operates only in California, Connecticut, Oregon and Rhode Island. No official source says Detroit-collected mattresses are recycled — assume landfill disposal.
• Illegal dumping is enforced. A mattress in front of a vacant lot, in an alley, or beside a commercial or apartment dumpster is illegal dumping. Report dumping that has already happened through the Improve Detroit app or BSEED Environmental Control at (313) 876-0426; report dumping in progress to 911 with photos or video. Detroit enforces illegal dumping, but no fine amount is published, so none is quoted here.
• Recycle Here! at 5960 Lincoln St takes paper, plastic, cardboard, glass, metal and film plastics; mattresses are not named and it is not a mattress route.
• Donation is not confirmed locally. A clean, undamaged mattress may be donatable, but no Detroit-specific official source confirms which charities currently accept mattresses. Call the charity first, and never assume a pickup.

Apartments, renters and multi-family buildings

No City of Detroit page states whether curbside bulk applies to apartment buildings, how many units are covered, or how a renter in a building with a private landlord hauler arranges a mattress pickup. The Solid Waste Guidelines describe service to "residential properties" billed via the tax bill and say commercial properties must arrange private service with a separate fee — so a building on private or commercial hauling may not receive the City bulk route, and there is no published unit-count cutoff.

What renters can rely on: ask the property manager which hauler serves the building and whether the building offers bulk removal, then confirm with DPW at (313) 876-0004. Renters at addresses served by the city's contract haulers can use the curbside bulk route on the same terms as owners, subject to the same frequency question. A renter can use the free Citizen Bulk Drop-Off Centers with a driver's license, state ID or Detroit ID plus transport — a lease alone is not listed as accepted ID. There is no city-provided in-home removal, and the paid pickup still requires debris at the front curb, so for an upper-floor unit with no elevator the practical routes are a retailer's in-home haul-away when buying a new mattress, or a hired hauler. Never leave a mattress beside an apartment dumpster or in a commercial bin.

Jurisdiction check: City of Detroit vs suburban Wayne County

Everything above covers the City of Detroit DPW residential curbside service area; curbside bulk belongs to the city's residential solid waste service, not to Wayne County.

Suburban Wayne County residents — Dearborn, Livonia, Westland, Taylor, Canton and others — run their own municipal or contract haulers, cannot use the Detroit Citizen Bulk Drop-Off Centers, and use the Wayne County household hazardous waste program instead. That program hosts four HHW events a year plus a voucher program for a contractor's Livonia site five days a week; vouchers are picked up in person at 3600 Commerce Court, Building E, Wayne, MI 48184, Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–4 p.m., first come first served. It accepts household chemicals and electronics only — a mattress is not accepted. Direct suburban questions to your city hall or the Wayne County Resource Recovery Coordinator at (734) 326-3936 (program contact (734) 326-5708).

Item prep before the mattress leaves the house

1. Confirm the day and frequency for your exact address with the City's My Home Info / Waste Pickup Schedule tool, your contractor, or DPW at (313) 876-0004.
2. Check the size question and call (313) 876-0004 if a full-size mattress is involved.
3. Stage it at your own curb only — never a vacant lot, another home or an alley.
4. Separate the pile, about 6 feet clear of the carts, with no refuse, recycling or yard waste mixed in.
5. Respect the window: after 6 p.m. the day before, before 7 a.m. on collection day.
6. Do not wrap for a rule that does not exist. No City page requires wrapping at the curb or the drop-off centers; if you wrap voluntarily, keep the item recognizable to the crew.
7. Self-hauling? Bring Detroit residency ID, stay within 1,000 lbs or 1 cubic yard per person per day, and secure the load.
8. Buying a new bed? Arrange removal at the point of sale, confirm the fee and condition rules, and keep the old mattress dry and accessible on the delivery date.
9. Rule out the wrong doors: HHW at 2000 E. Ferry St. takes home toxics and electronics only, and there is no Michigan mattress recycling drop-off.
10. Renting? Ask the property manager which hauler serves the building, then confirm with DPW.
11. Hiring a hauler? Get a written quote and ask whether the mattress will be recycled or landfilled — no mattress recycling program is confirmed in Michigan.

Safety warnings

• A mattress and box spring are heavy and awkward. Use a two-person lift or a hand truck, and never carry a queen or king mattress alone down stairs.
• Wear gloves and inspect before hauling for bed bugs, mold, dampness and pest activity, and keep it out of shared hallways and stairwells while staged.
• Do not fold or bend an inner-spring or adjustable-core mattress — damaged units shed wire and foam and are harder for crews to handle.
• Keep the set-out clear of the sidewalk and carts so crews, pedestrians and traffic are not obstructed.
• Keep hazardous waste out of the pile — paint, cleaners, motor oil, batteries, flammables and medical waste belong at 2000 E. Ferry Street.
• Never stage a mattress in an alley, in a vacant lot or beside a dumpster — that is illegal dumping.
• Do not assume a full-size mattress is inside the official size rule. Confirm with DPW (313) 876-0004 rather than risking a refused pickup.
• Secure and cover a self-hauled load so the mattress cannot shift or fall onto the road.
• Confirm eligibility before relying on a free route — apartment buildings on private hauling may not receive the City bulk route.

Mistakes to avoid

• Believing Detroit picks up bulk weekly or biweekly as settled fact. The City's own pages disagree.
• Assuming a lease proves residency at a drop-off center. Bring a driver's license, state ID or Detroit ID.
• Treating the 4-foot / 50-lb packaging line as satisfied by a full-size mattress — no mattress-specific exception is published.
• Wrapping or bagging the mattress because you assume it is required. No City rule requires it.
• Merging the two published paid-pickup prices, or paying before calling (313) 876-0004 for a quote.
• Driving to a drop-off yard without checking seasonal hours, or taking the mattress to the HHW facility at 2000 E. Ferry Street.
• Expecting a free retailer take-back, or hunting for a Michigan mattress recycling drop-off that does not exist.
• Leaving the mattress in an alley, on a vacant lot or beside an apartment dumpster.

Frequently asked questions

Will Detroit pick up my old mattress at the curb? Yes, if your address is on the City of Detroit residential curbside route. Mattresses and box springs are named accepted bulk waste, free within the limit and included in the solid waste fee on the property tax bill. Confirm your day and frequency first.

Is bulk pickup weekly or every other week? The City's sources disagree: current standing pages say every other week on the trash day; 2025 DPW news releases say every week. Confirm your own address with the schedule tool, your contractor, or DPW at (313) 876-0004.

Do I have to wrap or bag the mattress? No. No City page requires a mattress to be bagged, wrapped or sealed at the curb or at the drop-off centers. Some private haulers require it — that is their rule, not the City's.

What is the curbside size limit? Current pages give up to 2 cubic yards (about two stoves). The drop-off centers cap a load at 1,000 lbs or 1 cubic yard per person per day, and the general packaging line caps each item at under 4 feet and under 50 lbs, which a full-size mattress exceeds. Confirm before set-out.

Where can I drop a mattress off for free? Davison Yard (7901 W. Davison) and Southfield Yard (12255 Southfield Rd), Monday–Saturday with seasonal hours, and J. Fons Yard (6451 E. McNichols), Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–4 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m.–12 p.m. Free with Detroit residency ID, limited to 1,000 lbs or 1 cubic yard per person per day.

What does a paid DPW pickup cost? Two sourced figures are not reconciled: a published $40 per cubic yard on the Free Dumping and Keep Detroit Clean pages, and a size/weight estimate on the dedicated Paid Pick-Up page. Call (313) 876-0004 for a current quote.

Will a retailer take my old mattress if I buy a new one? Only as a paid add-on. IKEA removal starts at $30 in-store with a purchase plus in-home delivery, select markets only; Mattress Firm lists removal within its Gold (around $99.99) and Platinum ($149.99) tiers. Michigan does not require free take-back.

Can I recycle it instead? Not through any confirmed route. Michigan has no statewide mattress landfill ban or recycling program, Bye Bye Mattress covers only CA, CT, OR and RI, and most Wayne County recycling facilities do not accept mattresses.

I rent an apartment. Can I use the City's curbside pickup? Not established — no City page states multi-family mattress rules, and a building on private hauling may not receive the City bulk route. Ask your property manager which hauler serves the building, then confirm with DPW at (313) 876-0004. You can still self-haul to a free drop-off center with Detroit residency ID.

Can I take the mattress to the household hazardous waste facility? No. The DPW HHW Receiving Facility at 2000 E. Ferry Street accepts home toxics and electronics only, not mattresses, appliances or bulk.

What about a crib mattress, a topper, an adjustable base, or a bed frame? No official source states a separate rule. Bed frames and headboards are ordinary bulky furniture; crib mattresses, toppers and adjustable bases should follow the same bulk or drop-off framing, confirmed by calling (313) 876-0004.

Is there a single City of Detroit mattress page or a mattress fee? No. There is no dedicated official City mattress disposal page and no mattress-specific fee; the route comes from the bulk program, the drop-off centers, the paid pickup and the hazardous waste exclusion.

Contacts

• DPW Solid Waste Division — (313) 876-0004 (general questions, paid bulk pickup, drop-off info)
• Priority Waste — (855) 927-8365 (East and Southwest Detroit)
• Waste Management — (844) 233-8764 (Westside)
• DPW HHW Receiving Facility — (313) 923-2240 (hazardous waste only — not mattresses)
• J. Fons Transfer Station — (313) 893-6656
• Illegal dumping — Improve Detroit app or BSEED (313) 876-0426; dumping in progress, call 911
• Keep Detroit Clean hotline — 224-CLEAN / (313) 224-2536
• Pickup reminders — text your street address to (313) 800-7905
• Wayne County (suburban) — (734) 326-5708; Resource Recovery Coordinator (734) 326-3936
• IKEA US removal availability — 888-888-4352

Sources

City of Detroit, Michigan EGLE, Mattress Recycling Council, Wayne County, IKEA and Mattress Firm pages were checked on September 9, 2026. Hours, fees, accepted-item lists and collection frequency are date-sensitive, so confirm current details before acting.

1. Bulk & Yard Waste — City of Detroit Department of Public Works: https://detroitmi.gov/departments/department-public-works/refuse-collection/bulk-yard-waste
2. Free Dumping for Detroiters — City of Detroit: https://detroitmi.gov/departments/general-services-department/free-dumping-detroiters
3. Free Citizen Bulk Drop Off Centers — City of Detroit: https://detroitmi.gov/departments/department-public-works/refuse-collection/bulk-yard-waste/free-citizen-bulk-drop-centers
4. Solid Waste Guidelines for Residential Properties — City of Detroit: https://detroitmi.gov/node/77636
5. Paid Pick-Up Bulk Collection Service — City of Detroit: https://detroitmi.gov/departments/department-public-works/refuse-collection/bulk-yard-waste/paid-pick-bulk-collection-service
6. Keep Detroit Clean — City of Detroit: https://detroitmi.gov/departments/general-services-department/keep-detroit-clean
7. Spring is in the air, City of Detroit yard waste collection begins Monday, March 31 — City of Detroit DPW news release (Mar 11, 2025; source of the weekly claim): https://detroitmi.gov/news/spring-air-city-detroit-yard-waste-collection-begins-monday-march-31
8. City provides details on upcoming expansion of solid waste collection, to begin June 3 — City of Detroit news release (weekly claim; GFL to Priority Waste transition): https://detroitmi.gov/news/city-provides-details-upcoming-expansion-solid-waste-collection-begin-june-3
9. Household Hazardous Waste Information — City of Detroit DPW: https://detroitmi.gov/departments/department-public-works/refuse-collection/household-hazardous-waste-information
10. Landfill prohibited materials and appropriate disposal options — Michigan EGLE: https://www.michigan.gov/egle/about/organization/materials-management/solid-waste/landfill-prohibited-materials-and-appropriate-disposal-options
11. How to Recycle — Mattress Recycling Council (Bye Bye Mattress covers CA, CT, OR and RI only): https://mattressrecyclingcouncil.org/programs/connecticut/how-to-recycle
12. Household Hazardous Waste Program — Wayne County, Michigan: https://waynecountymi.gov/Government/Departments/Environmental-Services/Land-Resource-Management/Materials-Management-Planning/Household-Hazardous-Waste-Program
13. Removal Services (mattress removal) — IKEA United States: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/customer-service/services/removal
14. Do you offer mattress removal with a purchase of a mattress? — IKEA United States (no free-removal mandate in Michigan): https://www.ikea.com/us/en/customer-service/knowledge/articles/fe686ede-d454-4858-g2g3-9bd0b8dd19d4.html
15. IKEA Canton — 41640 Ford Road, Canton, MI 48187: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/stores/canton
16. Mattress Delivery & Mattress Removal (Red Carpet Delivery) — Mattress Firm: https://www.mattressfirm.com/red-carpet-delivery.html

Jurisdiction reminder: this guide covers the City of Detroit DPW residential curbside service area only. If your address is in suburban Wayne County — Dearborn, Livonia, Westland, Taylor, Canton and others — you use your own city's hauler and the Wayne County household hazardous waste program, cannot use the Detroit Citizen Bulk Drop-Off Centers, and a mattress is not accepted at those hazardous waste events. If your building is on private or commercial hauling, ask your property manager which hauler serves it. Confirm with DPW Solid Waste at (313) 876-0004 or your own municipality before setting anything out or driving to a center.

Related guides: furniture disposal in Detroit, appliance disposal in Detroit.