Mattresses creating too big a hassle at Fox Chapel garbage bins

Fox Chapel residents will no longer be able to dispose of mattresses in the dumpsters at the municipal complex.

“We’re having a problem where we’re getting five or six a week,” Manager Gary Koehler told council during its Jan. 18 meeting.

The borough supplies trash bins behind the municipal building along Fox Chapel Road for residents to discard bulk items such as furniture and small appliances.

The problem with the mattresses is that they fill the bin, Koehler said.

The more space taken by the mattresses, the more often the borough has to have the dumpsters emptied.

“It costs more than $600 to have it emptied, and we’re doing it every three to four weeks,” he said.

What’s worse is that the mattresses don’t compact.

When the bin empties into a Vogel truck and it compresses, the mattresses spring back out and eject other garbage into the municipal parking lot.

Crews end up having to shovel the trash back into the truck, Koehler said.

“I really don’t know how we’re getting so many (mattresses) but if you call ahead to Vogel, they will take them at the curb for $15 to $50,” Koehler said.

Vogel Disposal allows for items up to 45 pounds to be set out for weekly collection. Accepted items include lamps, bikes, sweepers, plastic lawn furniture and tools, among others. There is no limit on the number of items that can be set out.

While Fox Chapel residents have back-door service in their garbage contract, mattresses would not qualify for that and would instead have to be carried to the curb.

Cost of a home pickup would be billed by Vogel to residents.

Council President Andy Bennett suggested that old mattresses can also be hauled away when residents order a new one.

“Quite often when you get them delivered, they’ll take the old ones,” Bennett said.

“It’s mind-boggling that people are strapping them to the roof of their car and bringing them over.”