Mattress removal in Pasadena

Pasadena's own crews will collect a mattress, but the City rations bulky pickups, so the real question is whether a mattress is worth one of your two. This page walks through that trade-off, what apartment tenants and Altadena residents do instead, and the free routes that don't use a pickup at all.

Two free pickups a year: spend them carefully

If the City of Pasadena is your trash collector, you get two free bulky item pickups per calendar year.^[1] That covers single-family homes and buildings with four or fewer units, which the City collects from exclusively.^[2] Mattresses aren't on the list of things the program refuses.^[3]

The catch is the count. Use one on a lone mattress in March and you have a single pickup left for everything else that year: the old couch, the patio set, the move-out pile. Once both are gone, more pickups cost extra.^[3]

A sensible rule of thumb: save a City pickup for a day when you have a full load, and find another way out for a mattress that's on its own.

How much fits in one pickup

Each free pickup is limited to what would fill a 3 cubic yard bin, about 4 feet wide, 5 feet long and 4 feet high.^[3] A queen mattress and box spring stacked together take up a real share of that space, and a king set with a headboard takes more.

The same rule says no single item may weigh more than two people can safely lift.^[3] A dry mattress is fine. One that's been soaked by a roof leak or a burst pipe can be far heavier than it looks, and it may not qualify.

The two-week wait and parkway rules

Book through the Citizen Service Center, by phone at 626-744-7311 or online at CityOfPasadena.net/CSC, at least two weeks before your regular trash day.^[1] On pickup day, the mattress goes on the parkway in front of the house by 7:00 a.m., and not more than 24 hours early. Crews collect between 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on weekdays.^[3]

That two-week lead time is where a lot of Pasadena mattress calls start. The new bed is arriving Saturday, the guest room has to be clear for visitors, or the lease ends before the next available slot.

Apartments and Altadena

Five or more units. The City doesn't collect from buildings with five or more units unless asked in writing; they use private haulers.^[2] Residents there ask the building's hauler about bulky pickup.^[3] About 44% of Pasadena's housing units are in buildings that size.^[4]

Altadena. The City lists Altadena separately from its own residential ZIPs,^[5] and ZIP 91104 is shared by the two,^[6] so a Pasadena mailing address doesn't always mean City service. Our Pasadena bulky pickup guide explains how Altadena's hauler handles large items.

Free exits that don't use a City pickup

• The store that sold you the new one. California requires a retailer delivering a new mattress to offer to take the old one at no added cost, within 30 days, though delivery or setup fees can still apply.^[7] Ask when you buy, so the old bed leaves on the same truck.
• Bye Bye Mattress drop-off. Participating sites take mattresses and box springs at no additional cost.^[7] Find one with the program's locator, check what it accepts, and call first.^[7]
• Not covered. Toppers, pillows, crib mattresses, sofa beds and bed frames fall outside the free program.^[8]

Every new mattress sold in California carries a recycling fee, $18.00 per unit since April 1, 2026, and it's charged whether or not you recycle an old one.^[9],[10] That fee is what pays for these drop-off sites, so you've already paid for the service.

Bedding and the rest of the bed

Goodwill's Pasadena donation center is at 703 N. Lake Ave.,^[11] but Goodwill doesn't accept mattresses or box springs.^[12] Pasadena Humane is a better home for gently used towels and bedding.^[13] Its bins are at 361 S. Raymond Ave., and it doesn't want sheets, pillowcases or pillows.^[13]

When a crew beats the City in Pasadena

Hire a crew when the free pickups are used up, when two weeks is too long to wait, when the mattress is waterlogged, or when it's upstairs and you can't get it to the parkway. A crew carries it out from the bedroom and takes the frame and headboard in the same trip. Legacy works in Pasadena. 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. See the Pasadena area page for other jobs there.

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