5
bulky items per week; place a bulky alert with 311 before set-out
2 days
allow up to two business days after your alert for the bulky truck
Tag or haul
refrigerators need a technician's drain tag, or take them to the Solid Waste Facility
Every route for a mattress in Knoxville, checked in October 2026 against the city’s current rules and the drop-off sites named. The full Knoxville guide covers every other item.
Here is how each route works in Knoxville, starting with the city program and ending with paid pickup.
Knoxville weekly bulky waste collection: mattresses
FreeMattresses and box springs are bulky items, each counting toward your 5.
Who qualifies: Households with City of Knoxville curbside garbage service.
How to schedule: No appointment required, but the city asks you to place a bulky alert by calling 311 before you set items out. Up to 5 bulky items per week. The bulky truck is separate from the garbage truck and may take up to two business days after your alert.
Limits: 5 bulky items per week. Carpet rolled, tied, and cut to 6 feet or less. Tires only with rims removed. Refrigerant appliances only if drained and tagged by certified personnel.
Set-out: At the curb away from carts, mailboxes, and cars, with brush in a completely separate pile. Items mixed with brush or garbage are not collected.
Donation pickup in Knoxville (usable mattresses)
FreeKnoxville’s donation programs accept items in good usable condition: clean upholstered furniture without significant tears or stains, working appliances less than 10 years old, mattresses in good condition (subject to program-specific rules), kitchenware, lamps, and most household goods.
Items typically not accepted: damaged or stained furniture, mattresses with bedbug history or significant wear, appliances that don’t work, particle-board furniture in poor condition, cribs (federal safety regulations have changed), and exercise equipment that requires reassembly. Always call before scheduling if you’re unsure, pickups that find unacceptable items will leave them behind.
Freemoval (free pickups through partner organizations)
FreeFreemoval funds free junk removal and cleanouts for households referred by trusted partner organizations, such as nonprofits, housing programs, and senior services. Families don’t apply directly. A partner submits the request and vouches for the need.
Status in Knoxville: Not yet available. Freemoval currently serves metro Atlanta and plans to expand nationwide.
How it works where it operates: One free pickup per household, covering mattresses, furniture, appliances, and bulk household items within standard LoadUp marketplace service. Funded by LoadUp customer round-ups and direct contributions, spent at standard LoadUp rates.
If you run a nonprofit or housing program in Knoxville: you can start the conversation now through the For partners page.
Knoxville runs one of the most accessible bulky waste systems in the South: FREE WEEKLY bulky waste pickup with NO appointment needed, up to 5 bulky items per week placed next to your trash cart by 7 AM on your service day. Just place items at the curb. The City’s automated trash collection system (since January 2017) handles the regular trash; the bulky truck makes a separate pass within 2 business days after you place a "bulky alert". Service is paid for through City taxes, NO monthly bill, NO sign-up needed. Eligibility extends to single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes, and quad-plexes located on a single parcel within City limits. Refrigerators, freezers, and AC units require certified personnel to drain coolant first, OR self-haul to the Solid Waste Facility where staff handle drainage. Critical warning: more than 5 bulky items at once = Codes Enforcement Violation, NONE of the items collected. Stagger across weeks. This page walks through every legitimate option in order from free to paid.
The Knoxville rule for mattresses: Mattresses and box springs are bulky items, each counting toward your 5.
Program basics: 5 bulky items per week. Carpet rolled, tied, and cut to 6 feet or less. Tires only with rims removed. Refrigerant appliances only if drained and tagged by certified personnel. At the curb away from carts, mailboxes, and cars, with brush in a completely separate pile. Items mixed with brush or garbage are not collected.
What the city will not take: Refrigerant appliances without a technician's tag (take them to the Solid Waste Facility, where staff drain them), auto parts, tires on rims, construction debris, electronics, and hazardous waste.
How we checked this. The rules on this page were verified in October 2026 against: City of Knoxville Waste and Resources Management: Bulky Waste, City of Knoxville: Bulky Waste Collection guidelines. Programs change; confirm fees and limits before you go.
Why mattresses are different from ordinary bulk. Mattresses contain springs, foam, fabric, and wood, all recyclable individually but bonded together in a way that makes them hard to process. They’re also a notorious vector for bedbugs, which has led several cities to require plastic-wrapping before curbside pickup (NYC and Cleveland have explicit rules).
Three mistakes that get mattresses left at the curb:
When free options don’t fit your timeline or volume:
LoadUp paid mattress pickup
$80+For households who need same-day or in-home pickup, exceed the 5-item weekly limit, live in 5+ unit apartment buildings without City service, have construction debris (NOT eligible for City service), or want full-service hauling without managing prepaid stickers and dropping-off, LoadUp offers professional removal in Knoxville with upfront pricing. Independent loaders in the marketplace handle pickup, loading, and licensed disposal. LoadUp’s headquarters is in Atlanta, Knoxville is part of our home market.
What’s included: Loading, hauling, and licensed disposal of your mattress. No prep needed beyond pointing out what goes.
Pricing: Starts around $80 for a single item; full-truck pickups range from $300 to $600 depending on volume.
If you can pay for a pickup, your booking helps fund free pickups for someone else. Every paid LoadUp customer can opt in to round up at checkout, and 100% of round-ups go directly to Freemoval’s subsidized jobs.
Book mattress pickup in Knoxville with LoadUp → Round-up option appears at checkout. Optional, opt-in only.
Rules change at city limits. If you are outside Knoxville proper, start with the guide for your own city:
Related guides: the complete Knoxville junk removal guide (every item type, city services, hazardous waste, and how to report dumping) and the national mattress disposal guide with rules for all 117 cities we cover.
Other free removal guides for Knoxville: couch, refrigerator, washer and dryer, furniture, tv and electronics, dresser, bed frame and box spring, dishwasher.
Does Knoxville pick up mattresses for free?
Yes, as bulky items, with a 311 alert.
Where can I donate a mattress in Knoxville?
Knoxville’s donation programs accept items in good usable condition: clean upholstered furniture without significant tears or stains, working appliances less than 10 years old, mattresses in good condition (subject to program-specific rules), kitchenware, lamps, and most household goods.
How much does paid mattress removal cost in Knoxville?
Through the LoadUp marketplace, a single mattress pickup in Knoxville starts around $80 to $100 with upfront pricing, and full-truck loads run $300 to $600 depending on volume. For households who need same-day or in-home pickup, exceed the 5-item weekly limit, live in 5+ unit apartment buildings without City service, have construction debris (NOT eligible for City service), or want full-service hauling without managing prepaid stickers and dropping-off, LoadUp offers professional removal in Knoxville with upfront pricing. Independent loaders in the marketplace handle pickup, loading, and licensed disposal. LoadUp’s headquarters is in Atlanta, Knoxville is part of our home market.
Can I just put a mattress in my regular trash?
No. Mattresses are too big for residential trash bins and are explicitly banned from regular trash collection in most U.S. cities. Connecticut, Rhode Island, California, and Oregon ban mattresses from landfills entirely under state law. Use one of the free or paid options above instead.
How much do paid mattress pickups cost?
Single mattress pickups typically range $80 to $200 depending on the service and your city. National services (LoadUp, 1-800-Got-Junk, College Hunks) cluster in the $80 to $130 range for one mattress. Local independent haulers can be cheaper ($50 to $100). Booking 2 mattresses together is often only marginally more expensive than booking 1, ask about bundled pricing.
What about box springs, are they treated the same?
Yes, box springs follow the same rules as mattresses in nearly every city, same pickup eligibility, same disposal channels, same bedbug-wrap requirements. State recycling programs (CT, RI, CA, OR) accept both. Most retailers haul both away together with new mattress delivery. King and queen splits typically count as 2 separate items, while single-piece box springs count as 1.
My mattress has bedbugs, what should I do?
Plastic-wrap the mattress fully before moving it (heavy-duty mattress disposal bags are sold at hardware stores for $5 to $15). Many cities require plastic-wrapping for ANY mattress disposal to prevent spreading bedbugs to other households along the route. Donation programs CANNOT accept mattresses with bedbug history. Use city bulk pickup (with proper plastic-wrapping) or paid hauler. Tell the hauler in advance, some services charge extra or refuse, while others handle bedbug mattresses routinely.
Is this Knoxville page maintained?
Yes. Freemoval maintains this page as a public resource alongside the full Knoxville guide. We update it when programs change rules, fees, or contact methods. Last updated October 2026. If you find outdated information, let us know.
