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Fresno EOC Helping You get a Good Night’s Sleep with Low- and No-Cost Solutions to Dispose of Your Old Mattress

Jun 27, 2022

Fresno EOC Helping You get a Good Night’s Sleep with Low- and No-Cost Solutions to Dispose of Your Old Mattress
Mattresses are big, bulky, and heavy, making them difficult to dispose of. Millions end up in landfills across the country each year or illegally dumped on the side of the road. But getting rid of an old mattress doesn’t have to be a nightmare. The non-profit Mattress Recycling Council and Fresno EOC Local Conservation Corps (LCC) are creating easier ways for residents to recycle them at little to no cost.
The first thing to remember is that your retailer is required by law to offer to pick up your old mattress when they deliver your new one. Julio Lopez, Manager of the Fresno EOC Local Conservation Corps Recycling Program, says consumers should know, “When you buy your mattress and your box spring, a recycling fee is added. So, the retailer who is delivering that item must offer to pick up your old mattress at no cost and get rid of it for you. A lot of people don’t know that.”

If that is not an option for you, LCC can help. As a participating collection site in the Mattress Recycling Council’s Bye Bye Mattress program, LCC can accept your mattress, futon mattress, and box spring at no cost. “We get mattresses dropped off here on a daily basis. Sometimes we get up to 12 a day. People can drop them off at our recycling center in southwest Fresno, free of charge.”

Another option is to contact LCC to arrange a pick-up at your home if you live in Fresno County. There is a small fee of $25 for a mattress or box spring, or $40 for both. Julio says, “Our corps members can go to your home, but they cannot go inside due to COVID-19 restrictions. So, you will have to take the mattress to your front yard.” In addition, corps members cannot pick up excessively wet or damaged mattresses, waterbeds, or air mattresses.

More than 75% of a mattress can be recycled. The foam and quilting from a mattress can become carpet underlay, the steel from the coils can be used to make appliances, and the wood can be repurposed as fuel.

The Local Conservation Corps also helps young people prepare to be competitive in the job market. Corps member Joshua Quiroz says he came to the LCC for work experience. “After working in the fast-food industry for about two years, I just needed to move on with my life and find a better job. I was told by a friend that he came here and they gave him opportunities and benefits. It also allows me the flexibility I need to attend Fresno City College.”

LCC corps members are trained to safely pick up your unwanted mattresses and turn them in for recycling. Julio says about 125 to 130 well-stacked mattresses fit in a 53-foot trailer and it is strenuous work, but corps members are prepared. “We provide all of our corps members with training on how to pick up those items. We provide them with safety equipment including boots, goggles, gloves, masks, and back braces so they can do their job safely.”

Julio says corps members also work on mattress collection events. “So for example, there’ll be a cleanup event in Fresno County where the Mattress Recycling Council will hire a crew from the Local Conservation Corps for their daylong event. They’ll have a 53- foot trailer and three to four corps members along with their supervisor will work on loading all of those incoming mattresses.”

Corps members who work in the Recycling Program will also have opportunities to learn about recycling CRV (beverage containers), tires, and e-waste. Joshua says, “It’s a great program if you want to learn something new. I am forklift certified. I am in the Recycling Program mainly, so I know my way around and I enjoy going out when we have collection events on the weekends. But they have all kinds of things here. You know, if you want to figure out what you’re good at, come here and they’ll show you the way.”

 

Mattress Drop-Off location

  • LCC Base and Sorting Facility, 1805 E. California Ave., Fresno

(Monday-Friday from 8am to 5pm)

 

Arrange a Mattress Pickup

  • Call the LCC Recycling Center at (559) 264-1048

 

Click here for an application to become an LCC corps member.

 

About Fresno EOC Local Conservation Corps (LCC)At Fresno EOC LCC, young adults between the ages of 18-26, will have the opportunity to participate in the following vocational training areas: recycling, solar/weatherization, construction, public lands, and landscaping with earnings of $16 per hour.In addition to developing vocational skills, corps members are required to enroll and progress in an academic program concurrent to their enrollment in LCC’s paid skill-building vocational training programs. Corps members lacking a high school diploma enroll in the on-site YouthBuild Charter School of California (YCSC). High school graduates are encouraged to enroll in local college classes. Once enrolled at LCC, corps members can receive an AmeriCorps scholarship, which allows them to earn an education award (college scholarship), up to $2,300, while serving their community.

 

For media inquiries, please contact pr@fresnoeoc.org

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