How to Get Rid of an Old Mattress in Louisville, KY

Dustin Hobbs

Sep 24

5 min read

In Louisville you have four ways to get rid of an old mattress. You can book Metro's Large Item Pickup if you have city garbage service, drop it off for free at the Waste Reduction Center, bring it to a Pop-Up Drop-Off event, or have a junk removal crew carry it out. The right choice depends on your trash service, your vehicle and your stairs.

Here's how each option works, plus what's different if you live in Jeffersontown, Shepherdsville or somewhere else in Bullitt County. According to the EPA, Americans generated 12.1 million tons of furniture and furnishings in 2018, a category that includes mattresses, and 80.1 percent of it was landfilled, so it's worth picking the option that gives yours the best chance of reuse or recycling.

Can I put a mattress out with my regular trash?

No. Louisville Metro says large items like mattresses don't belong at the curb with your regular trash. A mattress left out without an appointment can be reported to Metro311 as a waste violation. Every option below takes a little planning, but none of them is complicated.

How does Louisville's Large Item Pickup work for mattresses?

If you have Metro garbage service (the Urban Services District), you can book a Large Item Pickup appointment online. Mattresses and box springs are both on the accepted list.

The rules:

Up to four large items per appointment, and one appointment per week.
You get a pending email with a proposed date, usually within five days, and then a confirmation email two days before pickup.
Set it out after 4 p.m. the day before and by 6 a.m. on pickup day, in the same spot where your garbage is collected.
Keep it intact. A bed frame in several large pieces still counts as one item, but don't cut a mattress up or leave small pieces loose.
Don't block it. Items blocked by a car, or piled on the sidewalk or street, won't be picked up.
It has to be yours. Everything must come from the household where it's set out.

If you don't have Metro garbage service, Louisville tells residents to contact their private hauler. The city lists Anytime Waste Systems, ecotech, Hometown Hauling, Republic Services, Rumpke and WM.

What are the rules in Jeffersontown and Bullitt County?

Rules depend on your city and hauler, so check yours before you drag anything to the curb.

Jeffersontown. Rumpke collects one bulky item per week. Call 1-800-828-8171 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., at least 24 hours before your regular collection day. Mattresses, box springs and other upholstered items must be completely wrapped in plastic and sealed.
Shepherdsville, Mount Washington and elsewhere in Bullitt County. Rumpke provides trash service across the county. On its bulk pickup page, Rumpke asks that mattresses and box springs be wrapped and sealed in plastic, and says to call customer service to schedule. Your exact rules depend on your service, so call before pickup day.

Mattress bags are sold at most moving supply and home improvement stores and are the easiest way to meet the wrap-and-seal rule.

Can I drop off a mattress myself?

Yes, if you live in Louisville or Jefferson County and have a vehicle it fits in.

Waste Reduction Center, 636 Meriwether Avenue (the entrance is on Bland Street). It's open Tuesday through Saturday. Residents can drop off up to four large household items per day for free, and a mattress counts as one. They take debit or credit cards only for anything that carries a fee.
Pop-Up Drop-Off events. Louisville holds free monthly events for Jefferson County residents on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., generally March through November. The remaining 2026 dates are October 17 at Metro Fleet Services, 3515 Newburg Road, and November 21 at the UofL Shelby Campus, 440 N. Whittington Parkway. Large household items are accepted. Don't arrive early, because waiting cars back up traffic.

A queen mattress won't lie flat in most car trunks or small SUVs. If you'd be tying it to a roof rack, it's worth thinking about the other options.

Kentucky isn't one of the Mattress Recycling Council's program states. The council runs programs in California, Connecticut, Oregon and Rhode Island and says it has recycled more than 15 million mattresses across them. Connecticut's program alone collected 212,789 mattresses and foundations in its 2024-2025 reporting period.

Can I donate a used mattress?

Sometimes, but call first. Louisville Metro encourages giving usable items away before throwing them out. Its suggestions include listing them for free on Nextdoor and checking with Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul and other thrift stores about donations and pickups. Mattress policies vary from one donation center to the next, so ask before you load one up.

Age is a useful first check. The Mattress Recycling Council's 2022 Mattress Age Study found the average age of all units it examined was 13.9 years, and 13.2 years for innerspring and all-foam mattresses. The council notes that this doesn't necessarily represent a mattress's useful life.

A mattress is worth trying to donate if it:

Has no stains, tears or sagging
Has no odor and no sign of pests
Is clean enough that you'd be comfortable sleeping on it

If it doesn't meet that bar, disposal is the better choice.

When does it make sense to hire a junk removal crew?

The city options work well for one mattress and a free Saturday. A crew makes more sense when:

The mattress is upstairs, in a basement or behind a tight turn
You're getting rid of the whole bed, including the box spring, frame and headboard
You don't have a truck or anyone to help lift
You're outside Metro's pickup area and don't want to wait for your hauler
You need it gone today, for example before a new mattress is delivered or a unit turns over

Michael's Junk Removal removes mattresses, box springs, bed frames and headboards, whether it's a single piece of furniture removal or part of a full apartment cleanout. The crew does all the carrying, so you don't have to wrestle a king mattress down the stairs.

The cost depends on how many pieces you have and how much truck space they take. You get the quote before any work begins. Estimates are free. Usable items are donated whenever possible, and the rest is recycled or disposed of responsibly.

How do I get a mattress ready for pickup?

Whichever option you pick:

Strip off all the bedding and the mattress protector.
If your hauler requires it, wrap and seal the mattress in plastic.
Clear a path from the bedroom to the door so it doesn't scrape the walls.
For Metro pickup, keep the mattress in one piece and set it where your garbage is collected. Don't set it out until the evening before.
For a junk removal pickup, just point the crew to it. They handle the lifting and loading.

Frequently asked questions

Is Metro's Large Item Pickup available everywhere in Louisville?

No. It's available in the Urban Services District to residents with Metro garbage service. If a private company collects your trash, contact that company about large items.

Can I leave a mattress at the curb for my apartment complex?

Metro's program requires every item to come from the household where it's set out, and apartment complexes usually have their own rules. Check with your property manager, or schedule a pickup so it goes straight from your unit to the truck.

Can Michael's Junk Removal take a mattress the same day?

Often, yes. Same-day service is available when the schedule allows, and we're open 7 days a week.

Call (502) 627-0414 or get a free estimate and book online to save $20.