Even mattresses need to be put to rest after years or decades of use, but folks can rest easy knowing that their beds will find sanctuary at the Yolo County Central Landfill, where dreams come true and mattresses get recycled.

In partnership with the Mattress Recycling Council, the Yolo County Integrated Waste Management Division has reached a significant milestone in an eight-year-long agreement with MRC by recycling 103,274 mattresses and box springs at the end of 2024.

Through the free “Bye Bye Mattress” program, available to all residents, mattresses are collected at the Yolo County Central Landfill, transferred to a local processing plant in the industrial part of Woodland and stripped apart for recycling so that beds are not bed-ridden forever.

Mary Vixie Sandy, chairperson of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors, expressed her enthusiasm for this achievement.

“We are supporting a circular economy by accepting and recycling these mattresses, giving these components a second life. We are providing free options for proper disposal to reduce illegal dumping in our county and are contributing to a cleaner and more sustainable future,” she stated.

Mattresses can be bulky, flexible and heavy, making disposal challenging — but over 75% of the materials used in a mattress or box spring are recyclable, according to the MRC. The wood frame from box springs is repurposed into shipping pallets, converted into fuel pellets and biomass fuel, or turned into mulch.

Steel coil springs from mattresses are melted down and reused in construction materials or new metal products, saving 75% of the energy used in producing new steel. The various foams and fibers — such as cotton, rayon and polyester — are separated and blended into products such as carpet padding or insulation. Additional applications are constantly being discovered, such as a modified mattress foam capable of absorbing oil from water during oil spills.

Diverting 100,000 mattresses from the landfill saves a tremendous amount of space. If 100,000 mattresses were to be lined up, split evenly between twin and queen sizes, they would cover 60 acres of farmland. That’s enough to fill 46 football fields.

If all the mattresses collected at the Yolo County Landfill were laid out end-to-end since the program began in 2016, they would stretch 126 miles from Woodland to South Lake Tahoe. If stacked on top of each other, they would reach a height of over six miles, taller than Mount Everest and five and a half miles.

As the Mattress Recycling Council approaches its ten-year anniversary, Yolo County celebrates the impact of recycling more than 15,000,000 mattresses across four states, saving 14.9 million cubic yards of landfill space and diverting 500 million pounds of material from landfills.

According to Ryan Trainer, president of the MRC, by their diversion of 1.6 million mattresses and box springs per year, the program has generated the following environmental benefits: 100 million miles of a gas-fueled vehicle saved (in greenhouse gases emitted), 818 million gallons of water saved and enough energy saved to power 40,000 homes for a full year.

If you are a resident who still needs to get rid of an old mattress, the Yolo County Central Landfill, located at 44090 County Road 28H in Woodland, offers free recycling for mattresses, box springs, and futons seven days a week.

Hours are Monday to Saturday, 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Additionally, the Esparto Transfer Station, located at 27075 County Road 19A, provides free recycling services every Wednesday and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.