Can I Take a Mattress to the Tip in Harrogate?
Yes, free at every site, but it goes in the energy recovery skip and is burned, not recycled. North Yorkshire also refuses mattresses brought in for reuse, so a good one should go to a charity instead. A council bulky collection starts at £37 for up to two items. Mattresses cannot go in a skip and will not fit a wheelie bin. Kruze collects them from the room they are in, across Harrogate and West Yorkshire, from £45, under Waste Carrier Licence CBDU597687. Call or WhatsApp 07436 120271.
North Yorkshire tells you what happens to it
North Yorkshire is the only council in our area that tells you what actually happens to your mattress after you drive away. It is not what most people assume.
A mattress will not fit a bin, is prohibited in skips, and charities will only accept one with its fire safety label attached. That normally leaves the tip, a council collection or a licensed carrier. In North Yorkshire the order you should try them in is not the obvious one.
What North Yorkshire Council allows at the tip
North Yorkshire has a dedicated mattress page, and it is the only council in our area that tells you the destination outright. A mattress goes in the waste for energy recovery skip, free of charge, at all household waste recycling centres. Energy recovery means it is burned to make electricity. It is not recycled.
There is a second line on that page that catches people out. Mattresses for reuse cannot be accepted at the sites. If your mattress is in good condition, North Yorkshire wants it to go to a charity shop or a reuse organisation instead, and the tip will not act as the middleman. So a clean, sound mattress dropped at the tip is burned along with the worn out ones.
Source: North Yorkshire Council on mattresses.
What a North Yorkshire Council collection costs
North Yorkshire’s bulky collection covers beds and mattresses and starts at a minimum charge of £37 for up to two items. If you receive a means-tested council tax reduction you may pay less. Cancellations need two clear working days’ notice.
Source: North Yorkshire Council bulky waste collections.
The reuse route is the one North Yorkshire actually wants you to use
Because the tip burns it and the tip will not take it for reuse, a mattress in genuinely good condition has a better route than either the council or us: a local charity or reuse organisation that will collect it. The fire safety label has to still be attached, which rules out most mattresses more than a few years old. If yours has the label and no stains or sagging, try that first. We would rather tell you that than take £60 off you for something a charity would have collected free.
The trade waste line
Household waste recycling centres are for household waste from residents. If you are a landlord clearing a void, an agent clearing between tenancies, or a business getting rid of beds from a let, that is trade waste and the household route is closed to you. Turning up with it can mean a refusal at the gate at best and enforcement at worst.
That is not us talking you out of the tip. It is the line the councils draw, and it is the single most common reason a Harrogate mattress job ends up with us.
The worked comparison
A double mattress and a divan base, in Harrogate.
| Route | Cost | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| North Yorkshire Council tip | Free | Fit it in a car, drive it, lift it into the skip yourself |
| North Yorkshire Council collection | £37, the minimum charge, which covers both | Get it outside before the crew arrives, wait for the date |
| Kruze | £105 for the pair | Nothing. We come to the room it is in |
£37 is the highest entry price of any council here, and North Yorkshire covers a lot of rural ground, so a Harrogate booking is competing for slots across the county. For two items with no rush it is still the cheaper option. For a same day clearance, or anything a crew has to carry down from a first floor flat, it is not the same job.
What it costs with Kruze
Mattress prices are fixed and itemised, so you know before we set off.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Single mattress | £45 |
| Double mattress | £60 |
| King size mattress | £70 |
| Divan base | £45 |
The price includes the labour and the disposal. There is no call out charge and nothing is added afterwards. We are a licensed waste carrier, registration CBDU597687, and every job produces a waste transfer note, which is what covers your duty of care under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
What we do that the council route does not: we carry it out. Council crews collect from outside your property, so a mattress on the first floor is your problem until it reaches the kerb. Ours is a two person lift from the room it is in, stairs included.
Why mattresses are priced separately from ordinary rubbish
Two reasons, and neither of them is POPs.
They are refused by skips. A mattress will not compact. The springs hold their shape and the foam springs back, so it takes up the same space at the tip that it did in your bedroom. That is why every skip hire company in the country prohibits them and why they are charged per item rather than by weight.
They are not upholstered seating. Sofas, armchairs and upholstered dining chairs are POPs waste and must go to an authorised facility. Government guidance is explicit that mattresses, curtains, blinds and beds are not domestic seating and are not covered by that guidance. Anyone telling you your mattress costs more because of POPs has it wrong.
Frequently asked questions
Is my mattress recycled at a North Yorkshire tip?
No. North Yorkshire’s mattress page says it goes in the waste for energy recovery skip, which means it is burned to generate electricity. The council states this openly rather than leaving you to assume.
Can I leave a good mattress at the tip for someone else to use?
No. North Yorkshire’s page says mattresses for reuse cannot be accepted at the sites. A sound mattress with its fire safety label should go to a charity or reuse organisation instead, and many will collect.
What does a North Yorkshire bulky collection cost?
A minimum of £37 for up to two items. You may pay less if you receive a means-tested council tax reduction, and cancellations need two clear working days’ notice.
Can I put a mattress in a skip?
No. Skips prohibit mattresses because the springs will not compact and the foam springs back. We collect them by hand instead.
Book a mattress collection in Harrogate
Send a photo on WhatsApp and you get a fixed price back, usually within minutes. Tell us which floor it is on, because that changes our job and it is the part the council route does not cover.
Call or WhatsApp 07436 120271.
Written by Sandeep KV, Founder of Kruze. Kruze is a licensed waste carrier based in Leeds, Waste Carrier Licence CBDU597687, serving Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Harrogate and Barnsley. Call or WhatsApp 07436 120271.
Mattress rules in the other areas we cover
Every council here takes a mattress at the tip for free. What they differ on is the price of collecting one from your door, and what happens to it afterwards.
More on tipping in Harrogate
- Bulky waste collection in Harrogate
- Van and trailer permits for the Harrogate tip
- Plasterboard at the Harrogate tip
- Asbestos at the Harrogate tip
- Fridges and freezers at the Harrogate tip
Clearing the building work rather than the bedroom? Soil and rubble at the Harrogate tip has its own rules again.
The other thing that will not go in a bin or a skip: tyres at the Harrogate tip.
Licensed carrier, fixed price agreed before we start. Book a Harrogate rubbish collection.