Last updated: November 2026
Most charity shops in Sydney turn away used mattresses, so start with GIVIT. Homelessness shelters and women's refuges post requests for beds there, and registered charities can ask for a mattress you list. Check it first against the ABSC's rough rule for donating: under 7 years old, no stains and no sagging.
Why Vinnies, Red Cross and Lifeline say no
The Australian Bedding Stewardship Council (ABSC) says most metro Vinnies and Salvos stores no longer accept used mattresses, for hygiene reasons. When we read the big chains' own websites in November 2026, three of them refused any used mattress outright.
- Vinnies NSW puts "mattresses of any condition" on its list of things not to donate.
- Australian Red Cross shops don't take furniture, and mattresses are named among them.
- Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury won't take mattresses in its shops either.
A better bet is an organisation that sets up homes for people in crisis, and the easiest way to reach those is online.
Where to donate a mattress in Sydney
GIVIT
GIVIT's donate page asks outright for beds and mattresses in good condition, along with furniture and household items. Before you list one, work out how you'd get it to someone. GIVIT never touches the mattress itself, and plenty of its partner charities don't have the means to pick up. GIVIT says an offer is more likely to be needed if you can drop it off.
Then pick your route. Homelessness shelters and women's refuges post what they need on GIVIT's what's-needed list, and you can filter it for requests near you. If one of them wants a mattress, GIVIT puts you in touch with that organisation directly.
The other route is to offer the mattress before anyone has asked for it. It sits in GIVIT's online warehouse for up to three months, where the 4,900+ support organisations registered with GIVIT around Australia can browse it. Include a clear photo, taken in daylight. The organisation will judge from it whether the mattress suits the person it's helping.
ReLove: bed bases yes, mattresses not right now
ReLove is a Sydney charity that furnishes homes for women and children affected by domestic violence, people experiencing homelessness and people leaving prison. Its donation form is narrower than its name suggests. When we checked it in November 2026, the form listed single, double and queen bed bases but no mattresses, and said the Alexandria warehouse was very full and taking only the items on the form. What it needs changes from week to week, so look again before you rule it out.
If your bed base makes the cut, send photos that show any damage. You'll also need to get it there. ReLove can't collect, and the warehouse takes deliveries Monday to Friday, 10am to 3:30pm.
Refuges, shelters and people nearby
The ABSC points people with a clean mattress towards local refuges and shelters, since domestic violence, homelessness and youth shelters often need beds. Ring first and ask what they need and what state they'll accept it in.
Or give it to someone down the road. Freecycle is a free network for giving things away in your own town, with each local group moderated by volunteers, and it counts 12,347,903 members across 5,333 local towns worldwide. Planet Ark suggests Gumtree for a mattress that's still in good shape, and a Facebook Marketplace post works the same way. Say it's free. Say the person taking it does the carrying.
Is your mattress good enough to donate?
The ABSC calls its 7-year line a rough rule. Broken springs or a smell rule a mattress out too, and the ABSC says a mattress like that should go straight to a recycler.
GIVIT's test is shorter. Would you pass it on to a good friend?
Stains rule a mattress out almost everywhere. Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury says plainly that it doesn't have the resources to wash stained or soiled items. Strip the bed and give the mattress a vacuum before you offer it to anyone.
Mattress waste and reuse: ABSC and ReLove figures
- Australians throw out around 1.8 million mattresses a year, and most still end up in landfill, according to the ABSC (checked November 2026).
- A mattress holds around 28 kg of recoverable material and can take up to 120 years to break down (ABSC).
- ReLove has furnished more than 8,900 homes and supports about 25 families a week (ReLove, checked November 2026).
- ReLove says more than 6,500 tonnes of furniture have been saved from landfill through its work (ReLove, checked November 2026).
- The ABSC is still developing a dedicated donation process to connect good mattresses with people who need them (ABSC, November 2026).
Leaving a mattress outside a charity counts as dumping
Don't leave a mattress at a charity's door, even with a note on it. GIVIT asks donors to hand items to a representative in person and never to leave them outside or on a doorstep. The NSW EPA is working with charitable recyclers to cut illegal dumping at donation bins and shops.
The footpath is no better. Planet Ark says a mattress left on the street is illegal dumping unless you've booked a council collection or a hard rubbish pick-up is coming. In NSW it's an offence to dump more than 50 litres or 50 kilograms of waste in a public place, and the on-the-spot fine for an individual is $1,000, or $2,500 in a sensitive place (NSW EPA, Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997). Even a cot mattress is well over 50 litres.
When nobody wants it
Failed the condition test? Then it's a recycling job. ABSC approved mattress recyclers can recover up to 75% of a mattress's materials, and pick-up typically costs $40 to $70 a mattress (ABSC). Soft Landing Mattress Recycling, an ABSC approved recycler and registered charity, takes drop-offs at 29 Chifley Street, Smithfield, Monday to Friday from 7am to 4pm.
Your local council's bulky waste collection is usually free, though you may wait a while for a booking. The catch, says the ABSC, is that most mattresses collected through kerbside hard rubbish in Australia still go to landfill rather than to a recycler. Our guide to mattress removal and recycling options in Sydney covers council collections and recyclers in more detail, and the mattress tip-fee cost guide has the prices.
A mattress that's failed the condition test can go with Paul. He takes mattresses with no limit per job and no extra charge, along with the bed base and anything else from the room, and Paul's team brings it all down from the bedroom. Book before midday and Paul can usually collect the same day. Loads go to council processing facilities that recycle. Call 0407 125 125 or get a free quote for mattress removal in Sydney.
Related reading
Book Donation Sydney · Furniture Donation Sydney · How Much to Dump a Mattress at the Tip: A Cost Guide
