Organizers of a free mattress recycling event at Gilroy City Hall on April 3 had no idea how popular it was going to be.
Within three hours, two 53-foot trailers filled up with discarded mattresses, forcing the event to shut down two hours early, City Administrator Jimmy Forbis said. To not turn anyone away, people were allowed to dump their mattresses in the parking lot to be picked up later.
The City of Gilroy and the Mattress Recycling Council hosted the event, which gathered 300 mattresses.
“It shows there is a pent-up demand that we need to address,” Forbis said. “I apologize for any frustration that anybody had. Nobody knew this was going to be so successful. We are committed to getting better at it.”
Bye Bye Mattress, a program of the Mattress Recycling Council, is funded by a $10.50 recycling fee that is collected from the customer when a mattress is sold. The fees are used to fund free drop-off locations and collection events.
But some residents have said that Gilroy does not have an easily accessible site to properly dispose of mattresses, leaving many to dump them along roads and creeks.
According to Justine Fallon of the Mattress Recycling Council, Recology South Valley provides Gilroy and Morgan Hill residents with two free vouchers per year to drop off any bulky item, including mattresses, at the San Martin Transfer Station.
In addition, when buying a new mattress and having it delivered, residents should request the retailer take the old one back, Fallon said.
California law requires all retailers to offer to take back an old mattress at no extra cost at the time of delivering a new unit.
Forbis said the city is working with the Mattress Recycling Council on another disposal event in June, possibly in a different area of Gilroy.
For information, visit byebyemattress.com.
