Do I Have To Throw Away My Mattress Due To Bed Bugs
Throwing away your mattress may be a bad idea. Heres why:
- Mattresses are expensive. Throwing one away and getting a new one isnt always an option.
- To throw away the mattress, you would have to pick it up and drag it outside. Doing so could spread bed bugs around your home, or give them to your neighbors.
- Bed bugs dont only live in your mattress. They can live in furniture, wall cracks, and floorboard cracks. You would still have bed bugs after youre done.
- Because there are still bed bugs in your room, buying a replacement mattress because of bed bugs would be a bad idea. The new mattress would become infested.
Its understandable if you dont want to sleep on an infested mattress. Bed bugs cause sleeping problems because they bite you, and because they play on your mind.
Mattress Recycling Edmonton Calgary And Central Alberta
Mattress removal and recycling is a service offered by Junk 4 Good which was established to offer employment opportunities to deserving local individuals in and around Edmonton and Calgary, looking to get back into or better themselves in the work force. In addition to our social cause, we strive to see 85% or more of every mattress and box spring recycled and diverted from the landfill.
Working together with us, you become a local hero by investing in social and environmental sustainability!
In 2015, Junk 4 Goods parent company Redemptive Developments successfully established Edmontons and Albertas first and only not-for-profit mattress recycling facility Evergreen Mattress Recycling offering an environmental alternative to burying our mattresses. We are confident that together with the support of the public and commercial sectors, we will be able to significantly reduce the amount of waste that is disposed of each year.
Since 2015, we have recycled nearly 200,000 mattresses and expect to recycle an additional 80,000-90,000 mattresses throughout 2020.
As Usual Common Sense Prevails
When in doubt, use your common sense when deciding what to put in the dumpster at your Chico or Redding apartment. If you were the person collecting the garbage, would you be displeased to see what had been thrown into it? A mattress half-hanging out of the dumpster with the lid propped open probably wouldn’t put a smile on your face.
If items are potentially hazardous, look it up and see if it should go the hazardous waste. Recycle everything you can, we only have one planet, let’s try to take care of it. E-waste can be especially toxic so make sure it goes to the right place and if possible, donate it somewhere that can still make use of it, like Computers for Classrooms.
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How To Prevent Infestations
If you’ve ever had a bed bug problem, or are looking to prevent a possible infestation in the future, there are steps that you can take. First, if you know that a friend or family member currently has an infestation, stay away from the home until it’s been treated. Bed bugs can cling to your clothes and shoes, and you run the risk of tracking them into your own house.
Check furniture from garage sales and free furniture on the side of the road for signs of bed bugs before you purchase it or bring it home. If you see signs of a current or former infestation, stay away.
Use a mattress and pillow encasement. Mattress and pillow encasements are made from a material that’s designed to prevent bed bugs from making their way into your bedding. They can also serve as anti-allergens, protect against dust mites, and are often waterproof. They are low cost and can be purchased at most home goods stores or online.
Reporting A Mattress Violation
If you see uncovered mattresses or box springs thats been dumped somewhere in the city, you can call to have it picked up. If it has been illegally dumped, you are not required to seal it in an approved plastic cover or bag for collection. But, youll need to call 311 to request to have it picked up.
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Where Bed Bugs Hide
When not feeding, bed bugs hide in a variety of places. Around the bed, they can be found near the piping, seams and tags of the mattress and box spring, and in cracks on the bed frame and headboard.
If the room is heavily infested, you may find bed bugs:
- In the seams of chairs and couches, between cushions, in the folds of curtains.
- In drawer joints.
Why You Shouldn’t Just Throw Out Your Mattress If You Find Bed Bugs
The problem with tossing your mattress once you’ve found bug beds is that the insects reside in more than just your bed. Since they hide in carpets, and even behind picture frames and in nightstands, you aren’t eradicating the problem. In fact, you could be making it worse. As you drag your mattress through your house, you risk depositing the bugs and their eggs in areas of your home that they may not have reached yet, creating an even greater infestation. Throwing out your mattress, or any of your furniture, should not be the primary and only method of control. However, after an infestation has been eliminated, many homeowners opt to purchase a new mattress for peace of mind.
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How Do You Destroy A Mattress
Even before buying your mattress, consider the possibility of having to change them in the future. And when youve thought about having to change at some point, youll start to think of how you can get rid of them.
But your alternatives for getting rid of a bed shouldnt include flipping them by the roadside, in the bottom of a lake, or even burning them. Before you go ahead to destroy your mattress, it is crucial to consider more acceptable options. Consider either of these:
- Donating them: Charities, shelters, and churches can take your unwanted mattress off your hands. Donating them will make a mattress available for those in need, and help you safely dispose of your old stuff.
- Selling off your old mattress: You probably arent changing them because theyre no longer usable. Selling them on online marketplaces, or even at a local store would be a better alternative.
- Retailers: Most retailers offer to take the old mattress off your hands for a small fee or for nothing, provided you purchase the new one from them.
- Take them to your local council: Drive up to your local council or local amenity center and drop them off there for others who may need them.
- Use of a specialized waste collection: Its the most convenient, as well as the fastest way of getting rid of your mattress.
- Use recyclers: These are facilities that can break mattresses into recyclable components.
Can You Recycle A Mattress
At the very least, some parts of your mattress will be recyclable, and its possible that all of it will be. And yet, according to The Furniture Recycling Group, Wembley Stadium could be filled five times with the 7.5m mattresses that are discarded in the UK every year.
While mattress recycling is relatively labour-intensive, more and more facilities capable of doing so are springing up around the UK. These facilities will break down your mattress into its recyclable components springs can then be melted down and remade into new metal products, while synthetic layers such as foam can either be used to make carpet underlay, or else can be sent to a plant where the waste can at least be converted into energy.
Aside from taking your old mattress to your nearest recycling centre yourself, the best way to ensure your mattress is recycled is to pay for it to be collected. But whether you use the local council, the company delivering your new mattress or a specialist mattress removal company, make sure it is clearly stated that the mattress will be recycled. Otherwise, its probably best to assume that it wont be.
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Boston Charities & Mattress Donation
Maybe you want to donate your old mattress to charity so that someone in need can use it. Unfortunately, you can not donate a used mattress to charity, no matter what condition it is in.
However, gently used bed frames in good condition can usually be donated to local Boston charities. The City of Cambridge, which is across the Charles River from Boston, suggests donating to the Boston charity Aid to Incarcerated Mothers, Boston area Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay, or your nearest Salvation Army.
Youll need to assess the condition of your bed frame before you try to donate it. Many charities end up wasting quite a bit of time and money on dealing with items that should never have been donated in the first place.
Spend a little time doing some research to find out whether or not you can donate your old bed frame to Boston area charities. Even though donating your old bed frame to charity helps to reduce waste and pollution while helping others in the community, you still need to do some homework beforehand.
With all of this in mind, using a mattress removal and disposal service is going to be the simplest way to finally get rid of that old, unwanted mattress.
Repurpose The Memory Foam
There are many ways to repurpose your old memory foam topper instead of throwing it away or dealing with having it recycled.
- Create pet beds for your dog or cat
- Place it on an old bed frame and make a trundle bed for your kids
- Cut it up and make pillows or stuff saggy couch cushions
If your foam mattress topper isnt in terrible shape, it might be worth holding on to. Any overnight guests you have in the future would likely appreciate the added comfort of plush memory foam to their bed. Especially after a long stretch of traveling.
Some people have even been known to use them to cover plants in the colder months or to cut the mattress pad up into rags for cleaning.
If youre about as crafty as a potato or just dont have the time to deal with the thing, using a is likely going to be the easiest way to get rid of your old mattress pad.
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Mattress Removal Services Near You
The good news is, theres an easy way to get rid of your old mattress. If you need a hand with mattress removal, give 1-800-GOT-JUNK? a call. Well get that old mattress out of your way in no time and you wont have to lift a finger. Let us do all the heavy lifting for you. All you have to do is point! Were in your neighborhoodfind a 1-800-GOT-JUNK? location near you.
About Can You Throw It Away
Can You Throw It Away is committed to helping you properly dispose of all kinds of waste and also provides ideas to help you reuse your old items. The companys mission is to make recycling and reusing easy for people in the modern world, so they can reduce their environmental impact. Can You Throw It Away has a team that are passionate about sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint on the planet.
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Recycling Mattresses With Bedbugs
Mattresses with bedbugs can be recycled at the transfer station and landfilldepending on the level of contaminationfor the mattress recycling fee.
Prepare a mattress with bedbugs for safe transport, handling, and recycling.
Learn about controlling bedbugs External website, opens in new tab in a Vancouver Coastal Health guide.
Why Is It Important To Dispose Of An Air Mattress In The Proper Way
It is important to dispose of your blow-up mattress properly as it contains a lot of plastics and when not disposed of properly can contaminate the soil and water.
Also, there might be a synthetic material cushion at the mid-section of your blow-up mattresses. This needs to be disposed of if theres a leak. Or you might have a blow-up mattress with a built-in pump that has officially bitten the dust.
If you are planning to throw away your bedroom air mattress, there are various ways you can go about doing so.
If youre lucky enough to live near a dumpster then your life is easy, just make sure that the bedroom air mattress is deflated in order for it to be easily carried to the curb or dumpster.
Need a new air mattress? These are the top 5 bestsellers on Amazon!
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Disposing Of Your Mattress
How To Recycle Air Mattresses
Depending on the material an air mattress is made out of, it may or may not be recyclable. As most are made out of plastic, only some cities, municipalities and waste management programs have the capacity to recycle these materials. Electric air pumps can often be recycled for some of the individual components however these may have to be sorted separately. If you prefer, Junk 4 Good can do all of this work for you. We are more than happy to load, sort and determine what may or may not be recyclable with the local transfer station.
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Signs Of A Bed Bug Infestation
Bed bug infestations are incredibly common, and while they can be quite troublesome and inconvenient, they’re entirely treatable. Your home is not doomed forever. Bed bugs are very good “hitch-hikers”, and can invade your home in luggage, packed goods, etc. If you notice signs of an infestation, call a professional pest control service right away. If left untreated, the number of bugs will multiply quickly, making them even more challenging to get rid of. These insects are cryptic, very good at hiding, and are known to be tough, resistant and hardy. Because of this, many times the best treatment method of a home for bed bugs is fumigation. The fumigant will control the bed bugs, even in the hard to reach places. In an apartment or condo where fumigation may not be feasible, conventional liquid treatment to the room and adjacent rooms may be an option. Because treatment can be so burdensome, early detection and treatment at the first signs of activity is very important. It is very important to consult a professional pest control company when dealing with bed bugs, because these bugs are known for reinfesting. This is not an infestation a homeowner should try to treat on their own.
Bed Bug Faq: Should You Throw Away Your Mattress
One of the many questions you may ask when you have a bed bug infestation is whether you should throw away your mattress or not.
In short, no, you should not throw away your mattress just because you are suffering from a bed bug infestation. In this article Ill explain why and what you need to do instead.
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Can Old Mattresses Be Recycled
Yes, mattresses can be recycled and the practice is fairly common. Through mattress recycling, approximately 80-90% of the mattress can be reused. Thats quite a lot of material that can be reused and turned into new products!
What parts of a mattress can be recycled?
Steel springs, wood frames, stuffing, and fabric are all contained in a mattress and can be recycled and reused in different ways. However, mattresses cant simply be left out for pickup with your regular recycling. Youll often need to find a facility that specializes in mattress recycling, and youll need to transport it there on your own.
Why is recycling a mattress is good for the environment?
When you decide to recycle your old mattress, you help reduce the amount of waste that ends up in your local landfill. Many parts of the mattress need to be recycled, as they take decades to decompose if they end up in a landfill.
