What mattress recycling and disposal really cost in Cincinnati

The short answer

Inside the City of Cincinnati, the bulk appointment costs nothing if you can get the mattress to the curb. A JunkRabbit pickup is $82 for a twin, $103 for a queen, $114 for a king and $143 for a mattress and box spring set, carried out from any floor. Self-hauling to the Rumpke landfill costs a tipping fee that Rumpke does not publish, plus a truck and a morning.

What 'recycling' means for a mattress here

A mattress is mostly steel springs, foam, fiber and a wood or metal frame in the box spring. Each of those materials can be separated, but only by someone set up to cut a mattress apart, and that is not something a curbside claw truck does. In practice, a mattress leaving a Cincinnati home goes one of three ways: a second user, a facility that can break it down, or the landfill. Rumpke Sanitary Landfill in Colerain Township is the big in-county disposal site, and it accepts mattresses. At JunkRabbit we recycle whatever we can and try to donate usable items when local charities accept them. We do not promise that a particular mattress will be recycled, because that depends on its condition and what local facilities take that week. What we can promise is the price: it is flat and you see it before you book.

Route 1: the free City bulk appointment

The City of Cincinnati collects mattresses and box springs through its appointment-only bulk program. There is no charge listed for the appointment. Each appointment covers up to five items, and they must be at the curb, reachable by the claw truck, set out no earlier than the night before. The real cost is labor and timing. Someone has to carry the mattress out of the house, and in a hillside neighborhood like Price Hill or Mount Auburn, the walk from the front door to the curb can include a long run of exterior steps. If your appointment date is a week out and you are moving this weekend, the free route stops being free because the mattress has to live somewhere in the meantime. When the timing and access line up, though, it is the cheapest legitimate option inside the city.

Route 2: Rumpke curbside in Northern Kentucky

In Newport and other Rumpke residential areas, bulky items are arranged by calling Rumpke at least 24 hours before your trash day. Rumpke's rules count a mattress and box spring as one item and require both to be wrapped and sealed in plastic. Fees and limits for bulk items are not published on the pages in our research, so ask when you call. Budget for a mattress bag, which most hardware stores sell, and for the time it takes to bag a queen in a small bedroom. Two people make this a ten-minute job; one person makes it a wrestling match. Then the wrapped mattress has to get out to the curb in the window Newport allows, from 5 pm the day before.

Route 3: haul it to the landfill yourself

Rumpke Sanitary Landfill at 3800 Struble Road accepts mattresses, furniture and appliances. Its hours, small-hauler policy and tipping fees are not published, so phone first. Count the full cost honestly. You need a truck or van big enough for a queen lying flat, and if you rent one, that is a fee plus mileage. You need straps. You need the drive, which from Hyde Park, Covington or Florence is a solid cross-county trip each way. You also need to carry the mattress out of the house, which is the same work as the curb route. For someone in Colerain Township with a pickup in the driveway, this can work. For most people elsewhere, it costs a morning to save less than they think.

Route 4: a flat-price pickup

Disposal is included, and so is the carry-out from any floor. There is no wrapping requirement and no stairs fee. The order minimum is $100, so a twin on its own is billed at $100; a twin mattress and a twin box spring together are cheaper as a set at $143 than $82 + $92 = $174 separately.

Worked examples from real Cincinnati situations

A Clifton Heights apartment with two roommates moving out, each with a full mattress: $94 + $94 = $188. A Westwood guest room with a queen set and a metal frame: $143 + $68 = $211. A Hyde Park primary bedroom being replaced, with a king mattress and its box spring: the set price of $143 applies rather than $114 + $92 = $206. A Northern Kentucky kids' room with a wooden bunk bed and two twin mattresses: $148 + $82 + $82 = $312. A Fort Thomas downsizing with a queen set and a heavy upholstered queen bed frame: $143 + $126 = $269. Every one of these is carried from wherever it sits, including second floors and finished basements. None of them needs a curb appointment or a plastic bag.

How to keep the cost down

Pick the set price when the box spring is going too; it is always less than the two items added separately. Combine the mattress with other things you were going to get rid of anyway, because the $100 minimum applies per order, not per item. If you can carry it to the curb yourself and you live inside the City, the free appointment is genuinely free. If you are in a Rumpke area and do not mind wrapping, the curbside route can work well too. Do not pay for a truck rental to save on a single mattress. And do not leave a mattress outside to wait for a better plan, since a soaked mattress is heavier and some routes will refuse it.

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