In response to new regulations from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection regarding waste restrictions, the City Council approved amendments to its trash and recycling ordinances (Chapter 11 and Chapter 17) to create a new program for recycling mattresses. Currently, the City collects mattresses at the curb by request for a fee of $20/piece, and these mattresses are sent to the waste-to-energy facility in Millbury. Under the new program, residents can still request curbside collection with an increased fee of $50/piece, or they can drop off mattresses at the Rumford Avenue Resource Recovery Facility for $35/piece. A mattress recycling vendor (selected from a list of 5 State approved vendors) will pick up at curbside and from Rumford for recycling.
All sized mattresses (crib, twin, twin XL, full, queen, king, and California king), memory foam mattresses and “mattresses in a box”, and all box springs are included in the new ban.
Futon mattresses, fold-out sofa beds, mattress pads and toppers, and any mattress that is damaged (torn, punctured, soiled, moldy, wet, or infested (bed bugs or other pests) are not included in the ban.
The new regulations, which are effective on November 1, added mattresses, textiles, and a limit on the amount of commercially generated food waste to the list of materials banned from landfills, transfer facilities, and combustion facilities. The regulations were enacted to implement the 2030 Solid Waste Master Plan, which establishes goals to reduce disposal statewide by 30 percent, from 5.7 million tons in 2018 to 4 million tons in 2030. It sets a long-term goal of achieving a 90 percent reduction in disposal, to 570,000 tons by 2050.
With regard to textiles, the City has partnered with HELPSY to provide Newton residents with curbside textile collection by appointment. Residents can make an appointment by filling out this form or by visiting www.helpsy.co/newtonma. Acceptable items are to be placed in a plastic bag at the curb on the day of the appointment. Textiles can also be dropped off at Rumford and at bins located at schools throughout the city. (See Green Newton’s article for more information about Newton’s textile recycling program.)
