HERMISTON, Ore.-A free mattress recycling collection event is scheduled for August 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Umatilla County Fair Office.
Umatilla County residents may recycle old mattresses and box springs in any condition for free at the event run by the Mattress Recycling Council’s (MRC) Bye Bye Mattress Program.
The MRC is a mattress stewardship organization created by the bedding industry that tries to decrease the environmental impact of discarded mattresses through education, recycling efforts and compliance.
Former Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed Senate Bill 1576, establishing a statewide mattress recycling program to reduce waste and promote sustainability in 2022, making Oregon one of four states with mattress recycling laws, along with California, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
SB 1576 took effect on January 1, 2025 and is funded through a Mattress Stewardship Assessment Fee of $22.50 on the sale of every mattress and foundation sold in the state.
Under the law, mattress manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors and renovators of mattresses in Oregon must register with the MRC, and the stewardship fee must be displayed in stores and collected at the time of a mattress sale.
“It’s a good concept, I agree with it 100 percent,” said Patti Turner, who owns Greg’s Sleep Center with her husband in Hermiston, where notice of the assessment sits right on the front counter. “People don’t necessarily know about it yet, though, and that’s been the hardest part, explaining why there’s an extra $22.50 on their mattress.”
While it may seem like yet another tax to weary customers, the Mattress Stewardship Assessment does not generate revenue for the State of Oregon. Instead, assessment funds collected with the sale of each mattress are used by the MRC to run Bye Bye Mattress.
Assessment funds are also used to provide collection locations, such as the upcoming event in Hermiston, with containers, transportation of those containers to recyclers, and the disassembly of the mattresses and box springs that are recycled.
According to the MRC, free recycling options result in less illegal dumping of mattresses and over 15 million mattresses have been recycled over the past ten years, saving 14.9 million cubic yards of landfill space.
“Keeping mattresses out of landfills or from being illegally dumped is great,” said Turner. “It will be interesting to see how many mattresses are recycled as the logistics are figured out.”
Recycled mattresses are separated into steel, foam, fibers and wood and used to make new products, including carpet padding and insulation.
For Joe Vermillion, with Greg’s Sleep Center, the assessment fee isn’t anything to lose sleep over and should instead offer some peace of mind for customers.
“It’s one of the first things I mention with customers,” said Vermillion. “A lot of them already say, ‘yeah, I know,’ when I bring up the assessment, so I think over time more people will be comforted by knowing the recycling is built into the price as they shop.”
Some mattress retailers, including Greg’s Sleep Center, accept old mattresses for recycling from customers who buy new ones and have them delivered.
More information on the Umatilla County Mattress Recycling Event is available by calling 541.278.6300. More information on the Bye Bye Mattress program is available by contacting info@byebyemattress.com or calling 1.855.494.8400.
The Umatilla County Fair Office is located at 1740 E. Airport Road in Hermiston.
Northeast Oregon Now reached out to the Corporate Offices of Walker’s Furniture and Mattress, which operates in Washington, Idaho and Oregon for comment on this story, but have yet to hear back.
