Can I Take a Mattress to the Tip in Wakefield?
Yes, and free. Wakefield lists mattresses and bed bases separately as accepted items at its household waste recycling centres. A council bulky collection is £35 for up to three items. Mattresses cannot go in a skip and will not fit a wheelie bin. Kruze collects them from the room they are in, across Wakefield and West Yorkshire, from £45, under Waste Carrier Licence CBDU597687. Call or WhatsApp 07436 120271.
The one tip question Wakefield answers properly
Wakefield publishes very little about what its tips will take. On plasterboard and asbestos we have had to send readers to a phone number. Mattresses are the one topic where the council has written a clear answer down.
A mattress will not go in a bin, is banned from skips, and charities need the fire safety label still attached. That leaves three routes, and in Wakefield all three are clearly signposted.
What Wakefield Council allows at the tip
Wakefield’s household waste recycling centre page lists mattresses and bed bases as two separate accepted items. That is a small thing that saves an argument at the gate, because a divan base is the item people most often get turned away with elsewhere.
This is also worth flagging for a different reason. Wakefield publishes almost nothing about plasterboard or asbestos, and we have had to send readers to a phone number on both. On mattresses it is clear. If you have read one of our other Wakefield tip pages and come away frustrated, this is the one topic where the council has actually written the answer down.
Source: Wakefield Council on mattresses.
What a Wakefield Council collection costs
Wakefield charges a flat £35 for up to three bulky items, booked through Wakefield MyAccount, and the council notes the charge is reviewed every year. A mattress is one item. A bed base is another.
Source: Wakefield Council bulky waste collections.
Sort it before you set off
Wakefield asks you to separate your waste at home before you arrive, and says staff will encourage you to do it in the sorting area if you have not. You can bring recyclables in bags and boxes but you empty them into the skips and take your bags home. For a single mattress that is irrelevant. For a bedroom clear-out where the mattress is buried under bin bags, it means a longer visit than you planned.
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 Wakefield mattress job ends up with us.
The worked comparison
A double mattress and a divan base, in Wakefield.
| Route | Cost | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Wakefield Council tip | Free | Fit it in a car, drive it, lift it into the skip yourself |
| Wakefield Council collection | £35, because the flat charge covers up to three items either way | 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 |
£35 for up to three items is one of the best value bookings in the area, and if you have a third item to add it gets better. It is worth pointing out that two items and three items cost the same, so if you are booking at all, fill the slot.
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
Does Wakefield take divan bases at the tip as well as mattresses?
Yes. Wakefield lists mattresses and bed bases as two separate accepted items on its household waste recycling centre page, which is clearer than most councils manage.
Do I need to sort my waste before I arrive?
Wakefield asks you to separate it at home and says staff will encourage you to sort in the sorting area if you have not. You can bring things in bags and boxes, but you empty them into the skips and take your bags home.
Is the £35 bulky charge per item or per collection?
Per collection, for up to three items. Two items and three items cost the same, so if you are booking anyway it is worth filling the slot.
Can I put a mattress in a skip?
No. Mattresses are prohibited in skips because the springs will not compact and the foam springs back. It is a skip rule, not ours.
Book a mattress collection in Wakefield
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 Wakefield
- Bulky waste collection in Wakefield
- Van and trailer permits for the Wakefield tip
- Plasterboard at the Wakefield tip
- Asbestos at the Wakefield tip
- Fridges and freezers at the Wakefield tip
Clearing the building work rather than the bedroom? Soil and rubble at the Wakefield tip has its own rules again.
The other thing that will not go in a bin or a skip: tyres at the Wakefield tip.