MATTRESS FOLLOW-UP

In my quest to prevent a mattress from going to the landfill, I called several more numbers today to find a different solution.  The first number I called was a company known as "Eco-Haul" and wanted to charge me $80 to pick up the mattress and then recycle it.  I told them I was just a kid and didn't have $80.  Another company, which I will not name, wanted to charge $120 and would have just thrown the mattress into the garbage dump anyway.  (This was very confusing.)  Neither of these places had any idea what else could be done with an old mattress.

It seems as though just throwing our old stuff away is the cheapest and easiest solution.

My mother noticed my frustration and called a few friends to see if anybody wanted a free twin-size mattress in good condition.  In no time at all, she found someone to adopt it.  Somebody gets to sleep on a nice mattress and one less object is going to the landfill.  This makes me very happy--but I want to continue investigating why recycling is such hard work.