Mattress removal in Glendale

Glendale takes mattresses at the curb, but it's strict about how they're packed and when you ask. Get either detail wrong and the bed stays on the sidewalk. Here's what the City requires, what apartment tenants do instead, and when paying a crew is the easier call.

Glendale's rule: bagged, wrapped or left behind

Mattresses and box springs are on the City's bulky list only if they're in mattress bags or safely wrapped.^[1] That rule applies to each piece, so a queen set means two bags. The City's list is strict in general: if an item isn't on it, crews won't take it.^[2]

Mattress bags are sold at moving-supply and hardware stores. If you can't get one, the City's wording also allows a mattress that's safely wrapped, and heavy plastic sheeting taped closed on every side is the usual way to do that. Do the wrapping inside, where the mattress is flat and you have room, rather than on the curb in the dark.

A mattress that gets left behind is your problem the next morning. Leaving bulky items at the curb without arranging for disposal counts as illegal dumping in Glendale and can be fined.^[3]

Timing the request

Ask at least three business days before collection, using the City's online form or the Recycle Coach app.^[4] The City's bulky list gives the exact cutoffs:^[2]

On the evening before, put the wrapped set at the curb after 6:00 p.m., fully off your property.^[4] For questions, Glendale Integrated Waste Management is at (818) 548-3916.^[5]

Buildings with five or more units

Most Glendale housing isn't served by the City's bulky program. The City handles homes and buildings of 1 to 4 units; larger buildings and businesses are served by private haulers.^[4] About 53% of Glendale's housing units sit in those larger buildings.^[6]

For those properties, the hauler offers up to four free bulky appointments per property per year, each limited to four bulky items.^[7] A mattress and box spring use two of those four spots, and every tenant in the building draws from the same yearly pool. By the end of a busy moving season, a building may have none left.

No City drop-off for mattresses

Glendale's Recycling Center on W. Chevy Chase Dr. takes e-waste and recyclables, but mattresses are on its list of things it won't accept.^[8] Burbank's free mattress drop-off is limited to Burbank households,^[9] so it isn't a fallback for Glendale residents.

What's left:

• Bye Bye Mattress sites. California's program takes mattresses and box springs at participating locations at no extra cost,^[10] regardless of age or condition.^[11] Find one with the program's location search and call before driving over.^[10]
• Retailer take-back. When a new mattress is delivered, California requires the store to offer to take the old one at no added cost, within 30 days.^[10] A store can refuse a contaminated mattress.^[12]
• Donation, rarely. Goodwill's Glendale store on N. Brand Blvd.^[13] doesn't take mattresses or box springs.^[14] The Salvation Army lists mattresses as accepted furniture but says each location differs,^[15] so call before hauling one to its N. Central Ave. store.^[16]

Bed bugs, stains and shared hallways

In an apartment, a mattress with bed bugs passes neighbors' doors on the way out. Bag it before it leaves the bedroom, and tell whoever is picking it up. The wrapping rule helps here: a bagged mattress is what Glendale wants at the curb anyway.

Retailers aren't required to take back a mattress that poses a health or safety risk.^[12] If a store declines yours for that reason, the bulky pickup or a paid carry-out is what remains.

When a crew is the easier route in Glendale

Calling a crew makes sense when the building's private-hauler appointments are used up, when you can't wait for the next cutoff, or when the bed is on the third floor and there's no one to help carry it. A crew takes it from the bedroom, so there's no wrapping deadline or curb to meet. Legacy works in Glendale. Pricing is based on how much truck space your items take up, plus labor. Free photo quotes by text: send photos and get an exact price. Loading, hauling, disposal and sweep-up are included. The Glendale area page covers other local jobs, and mattress removal explains how the carry-out works.

Text photos for a priceor call (909) 566-3090