What mattress recycling and removal cost in Cleveland

The short answer

A JunkRabbit pickup is $82 for a twin, $94 for a full, $103 for a queen and $114 for a king, carried out from any floor. A box spring alone is $92 and a set is $143. The City of Cleveland's bulk week costs nothing at the curb, but only in the first full week of the month and only if the mattress is wrapped in plastic. We recycle whatever we can.

The full price list

The price is per item, shown before you book, and only changes if you approve it. Order minimum is $100. No stairs fee and no sales tax line.

What the free routes actually cost

Free at the curb is not the same as free.

City bulk week

Cost at the curb: nothing. Cost to you: a mattress bag, two people to carry it down from the second floor, and waiting for the first full week of the month. If you rent the upstairs of a double and your lease ends on the 25th, you are either storing a mattress for days or leaving it behind.

Ridge Road Transfer Station

Free for City residents, Monday to Saturday 9 to 3, up to 4 cubic yards per visit. Cost to you: a vehicle that fits a queen, straps, gas and a few hours. If you have to rent a pickup or van, that rental is the real price of the free drop-off.

Suburban programs

Lakewood charges $3 for its mattress bags and requires them. Parma and Euclid require wrapping too, Euclid with duct tape on top. Those are small costs, but they are why a mattress sometimes sits in a garage for weeks.

Shaker Heights takes mattresses by request only, up to three items per pickup, wrapped and placed on the driveway. Its residents' drop-off at 15600 Chagrin Blvd is open Saturdays, but only once per household per quarter. Cleveland Heights allows four items per pick-up on a rotating route, with fabric items wrapped, and charges $10 for each extra item.

Winter

From mid-November to the lake freeze-up in late January or early February, lake-effect snow adds one more cost: a bagged mattress waiting on a buried tree lawn, or a drive to Ridge Road on unplowed side streets.

Common combinations, added up

Most bedrooms do not go out one piece at a time. Here is what typical Cleveland bedroom clear-outs add up to:

• Queen mattress + box spring, priced separately: $103 + $92 = $195. As a set: $143.
• Queen set + metal frame: $143 + $68 = $211.
• Two twin mattresses from a kids' room: $82 + $82 = $164.
• Bunk bed + two twin mattresses: $123 + $82 + $82 = $287.
• King set + heavy upholstered king frame: $143 + $152 = $295.
• Full mattress + dresser from a back bedroom: $94 + $126 = $220.

Each line is a straight sum. No bundle discounts, no add-on fees.

Four Cleveland mattress jobs

University Circle, end of a lease

A grad student near Case Western leaves a full mattress and a futon. $94 + $111 = $205. Nearly half the homes in 44106 are in buildings of ten or more units, so it usually comes down an elevator. Ask the building about freight times; a COI is emailed within 1 hour.

Lakewood walk-up, third floor

A queen set from the top floor of an older walk-up. $143. The free route would be two $3 bags, a sealed wrap job in the bedroom, a three-flight carry and a 6 pm to 6 am set-out window.

Parma bungalow, guest room and basement

The guest room's queen set plus an old twin mattress that's been in the basement for years. $143 + $82 = $225. Rumpke would take them with the weekly trash if each was sealed in plastic.

Estate bedrooms in a Cleveland Heights house

Three bedrooms on two floors: a king set, a queen set and a twin. $143 + $143 + $82 = $368. Cleveland Heights says it doesn't take bulk from large clean-outs, so estates like this are a hauler job either way.

Does recycling cost more than disposal?

Not with us. The price for a queen is $103 whether it ends up recycled or not, and we recycle whatever we can. Mattresses are a good candidate: steel springs, foam and wood frames can often be separated.

If a mattress is clean and in good shape, we try to donate usable items when local charities accept them. Most used mattresses do not qualify, so plan on recycling or disposal.

When the free route is the right call

Use bulk week when:

• You live in the City of Cleveland and it is the first full week of the month.
• The mattress is on the first floor or you have help.
• You have a plastic bag and it is not buried under lake-effect snow.
• It is one of three or fewer bulk items this month.

Book a pickup when the timing, the stairs or the item count do not cooperate. For more detail, see how to get rid of a mattress in Cleveland.

Booking it

Before the crew arrives, strip the bedding and pull the mattress off the frame if you can do it safely. If it's been in a damp basement or there's any sign of bed bugs, say so when you book. If you're keeping the frame, say that too, so only the mattress leaves.

Pick the mattress on the instant quote, or send a photo. You see the price before you book. Choose a 2-hour arrival window, 7 days a week from 8am to midnight. Book by 4 PM for same-day pickup. The crew carries it from the bedroom, attic room or basement and takes it away. Nothing to wrap, nothing on the tree lawn.

Frequently asked questions