The administration of Massachusetts state in the US announced that from 1 November the regulations of banning new waste that promote recycling and reuse, reduced trash disposal, and fostered recycling business growth took effect.
According to an official release, its regulations ban the disposal of mattresses and textiles in the trash.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) announced a new grant offering to invest in expanding the infrastructure for collecting food waste, mattresses, and textiles.
Also, MassDEP supports business waste reduction, recycling, and composting initiatives through the RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts program.
Massachusetts has an extensive collection infrastructure of both non-profit and for-profit textile recovery organizations that can find a new use for these materials.
Either selling or donating for reuse, or recycling into products such as carpet padding, insulation, or wiping rags.
MassDEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg said, “Recovering textile is an excellent opportunity for our cities and towns to reduce trash disposal from their residents at the same time as they get paid for the valuable textiles that they recover.”
On the other hand, Massachusetts has established a statewide mattress recycling contract including five recycling companies that can serve Massachusetts municipalities and establish mattress recycling programs to serve their residents.
MassDEP has provided grants to several of those companies, as well as other Massachusetts-based mattress recyclers, to increase the capacity to manage mattresses, as well as to create new job opportunities.
The state generates approximately 600,000 unwanted mattresses per year, about 200,000 of them from residents, with the rest coming from businesses and institutions.
MassDEP has provided grants to help establish mattress recycling programs in 137 municipalities.
