So, you’ve been searching through Futons Etc. for quite some time, trying to decide whether to stick with the entry-level Standard mattress or treat yourself to an extravagant Moonshadow futon mattress. But you still have your older box-spring mattress in your home, sunken in and highly worn from years of use. And now you want to get rid of it.

Over 63,000 mattresses enter US landfill each year. Considering the size of a simple twin-size mattress, that’s a lot of space. All the chemicals and materials that enter this landfill can potentially harm the environment. Instead, you should consider finding the correct disposal outlet or try to recycle your mattress.

A vast majority of people will never have interest in taking your mattress and using it for their sleeping quarters. There are all sort of sanitary and hygiene factors involved. Even budget-minded consumers on free services like Craigslist and Freecycle.org will not accept mattresses for free. But I have found some impressive resources in finding alternative outlets in removing or recycling your mattress.

First, check to see if your community currently has a mattress removal service available. Be sure to ask where the mattress will be sent to. If it is the landfill, say no. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of services available in certain areas to provide these services. Communities in Calfornia and New York have picked up on the mattress disposal and recycling trend rather recently. If you community does not have services like this, make yourself heard! Creating a demand is the number one way to make a change.

Mattress manufacturer Emattress.com has a memory foam mattress recycling program where they will accept mattresses that feature the memory foam material.

I found an innovative blog where you can turn an old box-spring mattress into a bookshelf.

In and around the San Francisco area, you will find BedBusters. This eco-friendly mattress recycling program is highly innovative and useful. For a modest fee, this company will pick up your mattress and recycle the material to produce planter boxes and privacy walls.

Before having your older mattress removed and thrown out, take a look around the internet or your local community’s services for alternatives to simply throwing out your mattress. Having a eco-friendly approach to removing your mattress properly could help the the environment and provide another service to recycle your trash into treasure.