Awwwww!!!! Great question! Glad you asked it!
Well, I was trying to use the "hihghagwapfwpry93509209" as a general way to put in the subject line of whatever it is you want to know where you can take it to get recycled.
It's easiest/laziest to be able to just chuck stuff in the can-- as in 'trash can'.
I'm still amazed at the attitudes I see around me, although, they get worse and worse by the day. The attitude to which I'm referring to is the typical American attitude of, "Someone else will take care of it" or "That's what we pay 'them' for".... That thinking is so completely and ridiculously lazy, for lack of a better word, and lest I get very graphically crude as to what I really think of people who have that entitled holier-than-thou attitude. I say, "Really?" "WOW!!!" and but of course, Hobson's classic line ..."Usually one most go to a bowling alley to meet a woman/man of your stature."
OK, enough of my sentiments to that.
If you want to recycle a...let's say...a mattress, for example....if it's in bad condition and you wouldn't give it to anyone else because it has holes and the springs are popping out, and you don't want to rip it apart and recycle the metal and the wood for some home project you're doing or you don't want it to go in the landfill, whadaya do about that?
I found this website that is really great for such-an-item-as-this and soooo soooo much more, it's called:
http://search.earth911.com/
For those of you who live in California, according to http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/publiced/Earths911.htm here's what you do:
"CalRecycle is partnering with the private sector, the EPA, and the other
states to provide citizens with an environmental information system that
can be customized for each community. The system, which operates over the
Internet and through an interactive phone system, provides a single source
of community-specific environmental and recycling information.
This information is available 24 hours a day over the Internet at: Earth911.com and by dialing 1-800-CLEAN-UP. Once you enter your five-digit ZIP code,
you'll be able to access a wide variety of information, including local
recycling information, household hazardous waste collections, and
environmental events."
On this site there is a wealthy abundance of 411 for the many "What do I do with my ____, when I want to dispose of it?"
For all of you earth-conscience responsible citizens out there, I say, "Thank you!!!", which seems so trivial because I know we are all extremely busy and the last thing most folks want to take the time to do is search and seek out a place to take our recyclables to or even if the companies who run disposal site facilities do curbside pickup, it's still one more thing to do to seek out who to call and to arrange the time to do it.
The good news is that you don't have to be there for them to do their drive-by and you can rest assured that you are indeed doing your part to keep your planet clean and environmentally healthy. You get an extra peace knowing you're doing your part and teaching your kids and others that it is ALL of our responsibilities....It's like when your mom used to say to go clean up your room and you just wanted your "live-in" housekeeper, aka good 'ol mom, to do it for you, because, you know, you had other more important things to do than to clean up your bedroom and that was supposed to be her job to do the housework. Oh please....
Even if someone else has the 'tude that's it's not "their job" to do it, you lead by example and be proud, in a humble sort of way, of course, to do your part!!!!
