Mattress disposal rules in Virginia Beach and the rest of the 757

The short answer

Owning an old mattress breaks no law. What gets people in trouble is putting it out on the wrong day, in the wrong spot, or somewhere it was never allowed to go. In Virginia Beach a mattress belongs at the curb only after a bulky pickup request, only from 5 p.m. the night before until 7 a.m. collection day, and anywhere else it starts to look like dumping. If you would rather skip the rules, a flat pickup is $103 for a queen and $143 for a mattress and box spring set.

Why the rules change at every city line

Hampton Roads has no counties in its core. Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk are each independent cities, and each one writes its own trash rules. Virginia Beach became a city when it absorbed Princess Anne County in 1963. Chesapeake formed the same year from Norfolk County and South Norfolk. So the line between Kempsville and Greenbrier is not a neighborhood boundary, it is a different government with a different pickup program.

That matters more than it sounds. A family in Great Neck and a family in Western Branch can both have a queen mattress to get rid of on the same weekend and face different request deadlines, different set-out windows and different pile limits. Moyock and Knotts Island are in North Carolina, with a different state and a county system that has no curbside pickup at all.

There is also no statewide mattress-recycling program to lean on that we found. Disposal is governed locally, and the place to look is your own city's trash page.

Virginia Beach: the rules that apply to a mattress

Virginia Beach handles mattresses through its bulky-item pickup, which works by request. You have to ask online, by phone or by email at least three days before your trash day. The city's bulky rules say beds should be disassembled and waterbeds drained.

• Set-out window: no earlier than 5 p.m. the night before, no later than 7 a.m. on pickup day.
• Placement: about three feet of clearance from obstructions, and not under power lines.
• Not on the list: bagged items, so linens and pillows in trash bags don't ride along.

The city's page doesn't list a fee for bulky pickup, but confirm when you request it. The practical problem is not the rule itself. It is that a mattress at the curb on the wrong night, in an Oceanfront rental block or along Shore Drive, sits there drawing complaints and getting rained on.

Norfolk, Chesapeake and Newport News

Norfolk lets you request bulk pickup until 3 p.m. the day before, through the MyNorfolk app or website, by phone or by email. In Ghent and Park Place, where streets are narrow and parking is on the street, think about where the mattress will actually sit. It should not block a sidewalk or a neighbor's car.

Chesapeake accepts mattresses and box springs in its bulk trash. The request has to be in no later than the weekday before your collection day. You get one pile of up to 4 by 4 by 10 feet per week, up to twelve times a year, and it can't go out more than three work days early. Break those rules and the city can charge the removal cost plus an administrative fee of at least $100.

Newport News takes mattresses curbside on your designated bulk day. The cap is six cubic yards per collection day, set out after 3 p.m. the day before and by 7 a.m.

For Portsmouth, Hampton and Poquoson we don't publish rules here. Check your city's trash page directly.

Currituck County, NC: no curbside at all

If you live in Moyock or on Knotts Island, there is no county truck coming for your mattress. Currituck County has no curbside trash or bulk pickup in that part of the county. Residents haul their own waste to staffed convenience centers, including Moyock on Panther Landing Road and Knotts Island on Knotts Island Road.

Those centers accept mattresses and box springs, but you need a County Access Permit on your windshield. Contractor and commercial waste is prohibited there. So a hauler can't drop your mattress at the convenience center for you.

That is why a pickup is often the simplest legal answer in Moyock subdivisions. The mattress goes from the bedroom into a truck and to a facility that takes commercial loads.

Dumping: the line you don't want to cross

Leaving a mattress in a vacant lot, behind a strip center on Virginia Beach Boulevard or beside a complex dumpster is illegal dumping. Virginia's illegal dumping law, Va. Code §33.2-802, carries penalties that can include up to 12 months in jail and a substantial fine. Most people never face that. They face something quieter: a code enforcement notice, a cleanup bill, or a deposit deduction from a property manager who found it next to the compactor.

Apartment dumpsters are the common trap. In Town Center, Military Circle and around Greenbrier, complexes often post their dumpsters against furniture and mattresses. Leaving one there is not disposal. Your landlord pays someone to remove it and passes the cost to you.

Hiring a hauler doesn't change your responsibility to make sure the mattress ends up somewhere legal. Use one that is insured and tells you upfront where things go. We recycle whatever we can.

The no-rules route

A king and a box spring bought separately would be $114 + $92 = $206; the set price is $143. A twin alone is under the $100 order minimum, so it is billed at $100. Two twins from a kids' room come to $82 + $82 = $164.

Nothing sits at the curb, no request deadline applies, and it does not matter which city you are in. Crews carry it out from any floor, with no stairs fee. Book by 4 p.m. for same-day pickup, seven days a week.

Frequently asked questions