DSNY collects mattresses free with your regular trash, on one rule: the mattress must be fully sealed in a plastic bag before it reaches the curb. Set it out after 6 PM the evening before collection. Unbagged risks a fine of about $100. Bags run $5-10 at hardware stores; a booked pickup runs $89 (twin) to $99 (queen).
How to put your mattress out for DSNY
Find your collection day
Mattresses go out with your regular trash, on your block’s normal day. Look it up on the DSNY site or through 311 if you do not know it offhand.
Buy a mattress bag
Hardware stores carry them for $5-10, sized by mattress. Buy the size you actually have. A queen forced into a twin bag splits, and a split bag does not count as sealed.
Seal it completely
Slide the mattress in, fold the open end over, and tape it shut. The standard is fully sealed: no exposed fabric or foam anywhere. A box spring follows the same rule and gets its own bag.
Set it out after 6 PM the evening before
Not the morning of. The set-out window opens at 6 PM the night before your collection day. Put it at the curb that evening and it rides off with the trash.
Know when this route is the right one
A helper, a bag, and a collection day inside your week: that is the whole recipe, and the total cost is the bag. Most of New York should do exactly this.
Scroll to compare all columns
| Route | Cost | Gone when | The rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| DSNY curbside | $5-10 for the bag | Your next collection day | Fully sealed in plastic, out after 6 PM the night before |
| Dropcurb pickup | $89 twin · $99 queen | Same day when booked by 2 PM | Book first, then set it out for the hauler, not the city truck |
Where the bag rule gets hard
The bag is the step people underestimate. Getting a queen into a plastic sack is a genuine two-person job: one person holds the bag open, one feeds the mattress, and a narrow hallway gives you room for neither. Then the sealed mattress has to survive the trip down. Stair rails and door latches chew through plastic, and a torn bag at the curb is an unbagged mattress as far as the rule is concerned.
The calendar is the other half. Your collection day is whichever day your block gets. If the new mattress arrives tomorrow, or the lease ends Friday and collection came Tuesday, the free route’s timeline is not yours to bend.
A second pair of hands, an intact bag, and a collection day that lands inside your week: if you have all three, take the free route. The people who book us are missing at least one.
A queen mattress at the curb is $99 here, a twin is $89, and the number is set when you book. It does not change when the hauler arrives. A second queen mattress adds $30. 5.0 on Google, 150+ reviews · 4.9 on Trustpilot, 125+ reviews.
Queen mattress, $99What a booked pickup looks like
This is a scheduled private pickup, not a DSNY set-out. You are handing the mattress to a specific hauler, not leaving it overnight for a city truck. You book, the price locks, and a local hauler takes the job. Haulers head out between 8 and 10 in the morning, and you get a text with the ETA before yours arrives, so the mattress goes out when someone is actually coming for it. Leave it where a hauler can reach it from outside, right out front where your building allows, and you do not need to be home. Photos come through once it is gone.
Book by 2 PM and it goes the same day, seven days a week. One customer, Tyler Bond, booked and had the item gone 45 minutes later. Mattresses move the same way: almost half of pickups are done by noon.
Bagging a mattress solo, if you must
The free route alone is possible with the right order of operations. Work vertical, not flat: stand the mattress on its long edge against a wall, gather the bag like a sock, and work it down over the top half. Tip it, pull the bag past the midpoint, walk it the rest of the way, fold, and tape. Flat on the floor you fight the mattress’s whole weight the entire time; on edge you fight one corner at a time.
Carry it downstairs with the flat side against your body so the stairwell rails do not chew the plastic, and tape over any nick before it goes out. The box spring is easier. Bag it first, then carry it, because the rigid frame holds the bag open for you.
Frequently asked questions
Does a box spring need to be bagged too?
Yes. The DSNY rule covers box springs the same as mattresses: fully sealed in plastic before it goes to the curb. Seal each piece on its own rather than sharing one bag. The box spring is the easier of the two, because the rigid frame holds the bag open while you tape.
What happens if I put it out unbagged?
Sanitation can leave it where it sits, and an unbagged set-out risks a fine of about $100. The refusal is the worse half: the mattress is still on your curb until your next collection day. Re-bag it and go again, or book a pickup and hand it off directly.
How much does mattress removal cost in NYC?
The free route costs whatever the bag costs, $5-10. A booked curbside pickup here is $89 for a twin and $99 for a queen, shown before you pay; a second queen mattress adds $30. Companies that send a crew inside your apartment charge more, and if your mattress cannot get to street level, that inside crew is what you actually need.
Can I donate a used mattress in NYC instead?
Usually no. Charities that happily take couches almost all decline used mattresses on hygiene rules, and the few that say yes want recent, stain-free, and odor-free. If yours qualifies, it is worth a phone call before you bag it. Otherwise disposal is the honest route.
How do I throw away a mattress with bedbugs in NYC?
Seal it exactly as you would any mattress. Containing an infestation on the way out is a large part of why the bag rule exists. DSNY guidance also calls for labeling visibly infested items so nobody rescues the mattress off the curb; check the current DSNY page for the specifics. Never donate an infested mattress.
Do I have to be home for a booked pickup?
No. Leave the mattress where a hauler can reach it from outside and be at work. The ETA text comes before arrival, photos once it is gone. If your building is particular about the sidewalk, use the ETA to time the set-out so it is only out for the handoff.