Watertown residents have a new option for recycling mattresses and box springs. The City is collaborating with a company that will, for a fee, pick up these items from the curbside once a month and recycle them. The next collection date is Oct. 11. New state regulations that change the rules for disposing of mattresses and box springs take effect on Nov. 1, but the City of Watertown has not yet announced the official transition date. Until then, trash/recycling contractor Republic will continue to collect the mattresses and box springs for incineration.

HandUp is based in New Bedford, MA, and recycles and upcycles mattresses in an environmentally sustainable way. The mattresses collected by HandUp are separated into their components – foam, cloth, wood, and metal – and recycled. Erik Dyson, Co-Founder and CEO of HandUp, states, “We are pleased to partner with the City of Watertown to offer its residents a convenient, cost-effective, and environmentally responsible way to dispose of their unwanted mattresses. As a company, we are committed to making a positive environmental impact and returning a portion of our proceeds back to the local community by supporting non-profit organizations that provide services to our immigrant and refugee neighbors.”

Watertown’s Recycling Coordinator, Anya Pforzheimer, says, “The City of Watertown is proactively launching this curbside mattress recycling program in advance of the State of Massachusetts’s mattress ban, which takes effect on Nov. 1, 2022. Similar waste bans are also going into effect for textiles and compostable materials, both of which Watertown has current recycling options already in place. This statewide regulatory change will require all unwanted mattresses to be recycled and banned from landfill or incineration. We are pleased to partner with HandUp to offer this service to our residents.”

To read the full story, visit https://www.watertownmanews.com/2022/09/26/new-mattress-recycling-option-available-for-watertown-residents/.
Author: Watertown News
Image: Watertown News

 

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