How to Recycle a Box Spring (4 steps)

Overview of Box Spring recycling

To recycle a box spring you must start by physically cutting away the fabric and taking apart each layer. The materials inside are then separated. 90% of those materials will be recycled and utilized again in products such as scrap metal and wood chips. In this article we will show you how to break down a box spring and where to take the materials to recycle them. 

What is inside a Box Spring?

Box springs are generally all made with very similar build specs. For the most part you will find 3 materials inside your box spring (metal, wood, and misc. fabric. The wood and the metal can be recycled.

Why is Box Spring Recycling so important?

Each year 20-40 million mattresses and box springs are disposed of in landfills across the country. This adds up to almost 1 billion sq.ft. of landfill space. The problem with mattresses and box springs ending up in landfills is that they do not compress or breakdown like other trash. Mattresses leave what they call “soft spots” in the landfill where they cannot compress trash into the earth, causing for wasted landfill space. Many landfills and states across the country are banning mattresses and box springs or are charging large fees due to the inconvenience they cause and the space they take up. Mattress recycling is becoming more important than ever and we are proud to say that we have helped recycle over 300K mattresses and box springs and saved over 7 million sq. ft of landfill space in Colorado alone! We have laid out some steps below that you can take to recycle a box spring yourself. 

4 Steps to recycle a Box Spring

Step 1. Flip box spring so bottom side is facing up

All box springs are stapled together on the bottom side. This is the easiest part to begin disassembling. 

Step 2. Pull out staples and remove fabric

You can either choose to use an x-acto knife for this step or muscle through it. The goal is to separate the fabric from the wood. Once you separate the fabric take it off along with the black mesh fabric. 

Step 3. Separate the wood from the metal.

Next, you will want to take the backside of a hammer or a crowbar and pry the wood away from the metal. 

Step 4. Recycling the materials

After you have removed and separated all the materials you will be ready for recycling!

At this point you will be left with a metal springs, wood, your mesh fabric and your cover. Here is what you do with them:

To recycle the metal: Take the spring unit to your local scrap metal yard. They will weigh it and actually give you cash (not a ton but you can be proud it didn’t end up in the landfill)

To recycle the wood: Cut the wood up into small boards and use it as firewood the next time you go camping!

The black mesh fabric: This fabric works perfectly as a weed barrier in your garden!

The cover: Unfortunately you will have to toss the cover in your garbage as there are not many uses for it.