Where to dispose of an old mattress
A mattress is bulky waste. Where you can take it in Riga and what to bear in mind.
Where to dispose of an old mattress in Riga: waste sorting sites or a removal service. A mattress is bulky waste — it must not be left by the bins. A mattress is bulky waste. Where you can take it in Riga and what to bear in mind.
A mattress is one of the things people most often get stuck with. It can't be left by the bins, it won't fit in a car, and it can't be folded.
Why a mattress in particular is its own problem
With a wardrobe or a table you can do what you can't do with a mattress — take it apart. A mattress is one solid block: springs or foam inside, a rigid edge all round, and it neither bends nor comes apart. A double mattress is roughly one and a half by two metres, and it stays exactly that the whole way.
Two practical consequences follow. First, a mattress often won't fit in a car even with the seats folded down — in an estate it only goes in bent, which is a bad idea for a sprung mattress and for most people simply doesn't work. Second, mattresses frequently have separate conditions even where other bulky waste is accepted: they may be limited by number or not accepted at all, so the acceptance rules have to be checked for a mattress specifically, not for furniture in general.
Waste sorting site
A mattress can be handed in as bulky waste at a waste sorting site. Before you set off, check that particular site's conditions and opening hours — the acceptance rules, the volume limits and whether mattresses are taken at all all differ.
This option needs a vehicle the mattress fits in — in practice a van or a trailer. Count on a second person too: a mattress isn't very heavy but it is unwieldy, and turning it alone in a stairwell is hard.
The building manager's skip
If a bulky-waste skip is placed at the building, a mattress can go in it. Two drawbacks: you don't choose the date, and you still have to get the mattress downstairs yourself. If months pass between rounds, the mattress spends that time in the flat or on the balcony.
Removal service
If the mattress is in the flat and you have no transport, it's simpler to book a removal. We arrive, carry the mattress out of the flat, load it and haul it to the landfill. We collect from upper floors too when there is no lift.
Mattress removal starts at €25, minimum order €30, excluding VAT.
A worn mattress has no giving-away route
For furniture in poor condition there is at least a theoretical buyer. For a mattress, practically none. A used mattress with stains, a sagging middle or a spring poking through is accepted neither by buyers nor by anyone taking donations — it is one of those things nobody wants second-hand. So if the mattress is worn out, there's no point spending weeks on adverts: the real options are taking it yourself, waiting for the skip, or booking a removal.
What to do with the bed frame
In most cases the bed goes at the same time as the mattress. It's worth planning both at once rather than in two goes: the frame and the slats usually come apart, take up far less space than the mattress, and both can go in one trip. If you book a removal, list both items in your request — then we bring a suitable vehicle and schedule dismantling the bed on site.
A mattress often won't fit in the lift even when the building has one — the car is shallower than the mattress is long, and wedging it in at an angle rarely works. That means carrying it down the stairs, which is why the request form asks for the floor and whether there is a lift.
See also: mattress removal, old mattress removal, furniture drop-off points in Riga.
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Frequently asked questions
No. A mattress is bulky waste, and it must not be left next to household waste bins.
From €25, excluding VAT. The minimum order is €30.
We remove mattresses in any condition. Waste sorting sites may have different rules, so it's worth checking theirs in advance.
A double one practically never, not even with the seats folded down — it doesn't bend and it's too long. A narrow single mattress can sometimes be manoeuvred into an estate car, but bear in mind that folding a sprung mattress can damage it.
For a worn mattress there is no realistic giving-away route — used mattresses with stains or a sagging middle are accepted neither by buyers nor by anyone taking donations. If it is nearly new you can try, but it isn't worth waiting long.
Yes. List both the mattress and the bed in your request — we take both in one trip and dismantle the bed frame on site if needed.
No. It doesn't need wrapping, cleaning or moving into the stairwell — we carry it out of the flat exactly as it is.