Many Ocean towns want a phone call first
Mattress pickup in Ocean County comes from your town or its contracted hauler, and in many towns the first step is calling Public Works. Here's how the larger towns handle it:
Tap a town for its full rules and a link to the official source, and confirm the current schedule before you set anything out.
- Toms River allows one bulk collection a month for items that don't fit in your trash can, and a mattress counts as non-metal bulk. Call Public Works to get on the list and say what you're putting out. Move-outs and very large amounts aren't collected at the curb.
- Lakewood collects bulk once a month by zone, but only from addresses that called Public Works by the day before. No call, no pickup.
- Brick picks up bulk by appointment through Public Works, with a yearly cap on collections per household.
- Jackson collects bulky waste on a zone schedule. Mattresses and cushions must be covered, nothing goes out more than 48 hours early, and the pickup is for a homeowner's items, not a landlord clearing out a whole house.
- Manchester picks up bulk, mattresses included, on two scheduled dates a year set by zone or community.
- Point Pleasant Borough takes one large item, such as a mattress and box spring, with regular trash each week. Upholstered items have to be kept dry.
- In Plumsted Township (New Egypt), residents arrange their own trash service. On the Plumsted MUA's contract, bulk is collected once a month by section, and a mattress or box spring must be wrapped in plastic or a zippered plastic mattress cover. On another hauler, ask yours.
Getting a mattress ready for the curb
Three habits cover most Ocean County rules. Cover the mattress and box spring in plastic, since Jackson and the Plumsted MUA's contract both require it. Keep them dry, as Point Pleasant Borough asks for anything upholstered. And put them out on time, not days early: Jackson allows no more than 48 hours before pickup.
Mention the bed frame when you call. Toms River keeps metal items, like appliances and bikes, on a separate list from regular bulk, so a metal frame may need its own request. A wooden frame or headboard counts as regular non-metal bulk there.
Where you can drop off a mattress
Ocean County's Northern Recycling Center in Lakewood and Southern Recycling Center in Manahawkin are set up for recyclables, brush and leaves, and special waste such as paint and electronics. The county's listings for those sites don't include mattresses or furniture.
The Ocean County Landfill on Route 70 in Manchester is the site the county lists for bulky trash. It's privately owned and operated, separate from the county's solid waste department, and Manchester tells its residents the landfill charges for bulk items. Call before you drive a mattress there.
Two towns run their own drop-offs. Manchester residents can bring bulk to the Whiting Recycling Center with a township-issued vehicle sticker. Brick residents can take bulk items to the Recycling Center on Ridge Road with a tax bill and driver's license, up to a yearly visit limit, and contractors aren't allowed.
Can someone else use it?
If the mattress is clean and fairly new, passing it on feels better than throwing it out. New Jersey makes that harder than it sounds. Under N.J.S.A. 26:10-20, a used mattress or box spring can't be sold, leased or delivered unless it's sealed in plastic, and it can't be sold at all until it has been cleaned and disinfected by a state-approved process. Ask any charity or resale shop before you load it.
There's also no statewide mattress recycling program in New Jersey yet. A Mattress Stewardship Act (S2359) is in the state Senate but hasn't become law, so for now an old mattress goes through your town, a drop-off site or a hauler.
Shopping for a replacement? When you order, ask whether delivery can include taking the old mattress, and what that adds to the bill.
When it's easier to have us haul it
We're based in New Egypt, so Ocean County is home ground. If your zone's date is weeks away, you can't get the mattress down the stairs, or you're clearing a whole bedroom or a rental between tenants, text photos to (855) 655-7552 for one upfront price.
Dominic works the jobs himself alongside his crew. We carry the mattress, box spring and frame out from wherever they are, load them, and sweep up. What can't be reused goes to the Ocean County Landfill in Manchester, and a dresser or bed frame in good shape gets donated when possible. Jobs have a $250 minimum, the price we quote is the price you pay, and same-day and next-day openings are often available. Read more about mattress removal, or book a free estimate.
