San Diego
How to Get Rid of a Mattress in
San Diego
Good news that most people don't know: San Diego has one of the best free mattress-recycling setups in California. The catch is the part between your bedroom and the recycling site — a floppy king that won't fit in a car, a walk-up stair, and weekday-only hours. This guide lays out the honest trade: the free Miramar drop-off if you can move it yourself, versus a flat $111–$114 pickup that carries it from the bedroom for you, plus the bedbug caveat and why the city won't take it at the curb.
Two paths, side by side
For a mattress in San Diego it really comes down to two live options plus a couple of near-misses. Here's the honest comparison before we dig into each.
| Way | What it costs | How fast | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Bye Bye Mattress drop-off (Miramar, 5161 Convoy St) | Free | Mon–Fri 7a–3p | You haul it yourself; not accepted if wet, soiled or bedbug-infested |
| City of San Diego bulky pickup | Free | Appointment, if eligible | Single-family homes only; apartments & condos get nothing; you still drag it to the curb |
| Retailer haul-away with a new mattress | $0–$50 | On delivery day | Only when you're buying a replacement; delivery-window dependent |
| JunkRabbit (flat photo price) | $82 twin → $114 king (box spring $92) | Same day | None — carried from the bedroom, recycled free for you |
JunkRabbit figures are San Diego flat rates. No California sales tax applies to the removal service.
The free option: Bye Bye Mattress at Miramar
California runs a statewide, fee-funded mattress-recycling program called Bye Bye Mattress (you already paid into it as a small recycling fee when you bought the mattress), and San Diego has a dedicated free drop-off: the Miramar Mattress Collection Site at 5161 Convoy St in Kearny Mesa, open Monday through Friday, 7am–3pm. It accepts any mattress or box spring for free — twin to king, foam or innerspring — and the materials get pulled apart properly: steel springs, foam, fiber, and wood are all reclaimed instead of buried. It's a genuinely great program, and it's exactly what a good hauler does with your mattress on the back end anyway.
So the free path is real — with two honest asterisks. First, the condition rule: a mattress that's wet, heavily soiled, or bedbug-infested is not accepted for recycling, and has to be disposed instead. Second, and this is the one that trips people up, you have to get it there. A mattress is deceptively hard to move solo — wide, floppy, and forever catching on a doorframe — and it won't fit in a car. That means a pickup truck or a rental, a second person for the stairs, and a weekday trip to Convoy Street during business hours. If you have all three, the free drop-off is the smart move. If you don't, keep reading.
Why you can't just leave it at the curb
The instinct is to set the mattress on the curb and wait for a city truck. In San Diego that usually doesn't work, for a specific local reason. Under the century-old People's Ordinance, the City of San Diego collected refuse and bulky items only from single-family homes with city-street access — apartments and condos have never gotten municipal pickup and use private haulers. Measure B (2022) is finally changing that and lets the city charge a fee, with the rollout across 2025–2026, but even for an eligible house the large-item service is limited and appointment-only; the city points residents to self-haul and recycling programs rather than an on-demand truck. You can check your eligibility with Environmental Services at 858-694-7000, but for a renter in Pacific Beach, an owner in a Downtown tower, or anyone in a City Heights courtyard building, there is no curbside mattress pickup at all. Leaving one out isn't just ineffective — in many neighborhoods and HOAs it can earn a citation.
The full-service option: carried from the bedroom, recycled free for you
This is where we fit, and the pitch is simple: we do the free recycling AND the hard part. You send a photo, get an exact flat price in seconds, and a vetted, insured hauler comes and carries the mattress out of the bedroom — down the beach-alley walk-up, out the tower's freight elevator (COI filed, no surcharge), or straight out of the house — then takes it to Bye Bye Mattress recycling at Miramar. You never touch it, never rent a truck, and never make the Convoy Street drive. The price is flat by size, disposal and recycling are already in it, and California charges no sales tax on the service.
| Size | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Twin mattress | $82 |
| Full mattress | $94 |
| Queen mattress | $103 |
| King mattress | $114 |
| Box spring | $92 |
| Mattress + box spring (set) | $143 |
$75 minimum. Stairs, walk-ups and condo freight elevators are included — no surcharge. Clearing a whole bedroom or a student rental with several beds? Send one photo and we'll price the lot. No CA sales tax on the service.
See the full San Diego mattress-removal page → — every size, how the carry-out works, and coverage across the beaches, the core and the South Bay.
The bedbug & soiled-mattress caveat — read this first
If your mattress is wet, heavily soiled, or has bedbugs, it changes both paths. It can't go through free Bye Bye Mattress recycling — the collection site will turn it away — so DIY recycling is off the table, and dragging an infested mattress through a shared apartment building can spread the problem. The right move is to tell us up front when you send the photo: the crew arrives ready to bag and seal it in the room, carry it out contained, and take it straight to disposal at Miramar (San Diego has no add-on refuse tax, so the flat price still covers it). No judgment, no drama, and the price and carry-out are the same as any other mattress. It's exactly the situation where doing it yourself is worst and full-service is best.
Which should you choose?
Short version: if the mattress is clean and dry, you own or can borrow a truck, and you have a helper plus a free weekday, drive it to the Miramar Mattress Collection Site and recycle it for free — it's a genuinely good program and we'd send you there ourselves. If it's a king you'd be moving alone, if it's upstairs or in a no-curb apartment or condo, if it's soiled or has bedbugs, or if you just want it gone today, full-service at a flat $111–$154 — carried from the bedroom, recycled for you, no sales tax — is the honest better deal. The city curb option, for most San Diegans, isn't really available at all.
Getting rid of a mattress in San Diego — FAQ
Where can I recycle a mattress for free in San Diego?
At the Miramar Mattress Collection Site, 5161 Convoy St, Mon–Fri 7am–3pm, through Bye Bye Mattress. Any mattress or box spring is accepted free unless it's wet, soiled or bedbug-infested — but you have to haul it there yourself.
Does the city pick up mattresses at the curb?
Mostly no. Apartments and condos get no city bulky pickup, and eligible houses get only a limited, appointment-only option under the People's Ordinance / Measure B. Environmental Services is 858-694-7000.
What does JunkRabbit charge for a mattress?
Flat by size: twin $82, full $94, queen $103, king $114, box spring $92, set $192. $75 minimum, carry-out and free recycling included, no CA sales tax.
What if it's soiled or has bedbugs?
We still haul it — flag it with your photo and the crew bags and handles it safely. It's disposed rather than recycled, but the flat price and carry-out are unchanged.
Is free recycling or full-service cheaper?
Free is cheapest if you have a truck, a helper and a weekday. Add a rental truck or a solo stair-carry and a flat $111–$154 full-service pickup usually wins — and it's the only option from a no-curb apartment.
Can you take it same-day?
Usually. Send a photo for a flat quote and we book the soonest window. During May student move-out and summer PCS season, book a day ahead.
Ready to Get It Gone?
Send a photo and get one flat price back in seconds — carry-out, hauling and disposal are all in it.
Upload Photos & Get Your QuotePrefer texting? 💬 Text (858) 339-5865 — send a photo, get the price.