Beginning November 1, 2022, in response to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) ban on mattress disposal, Waste Management will no longer be collecting mattresses and/or box springs for the Town of Billerica, as they must now be recycled.
The contracted vendor for Mattress and Box Spring recycling in Billerica is UTEC, a local non-profit company that employs at-risk young adults.
Each item (mattress or box spring) will cost $40 (a mattress is 1 item, a box spring is 1 item, a split box spring (2 piece for king beds) is 2 items).
To schedule a collection by UTEC, please go to their website at https://utecinc.org/mattress-recycling/ then scroll down to Schedule Service – Billerica. Fill out the online form by selecting a day and time period and fill in number of each item to be collected, then “Add to cart” to start payment process. UTEC can also be reached at 978-856-3997.
If a mattress or box spring is found to be unsuitable for recycling due to contamination (bedbugs, excessively soiled or moldy), UTEC will tag the item and notify the Town. Once the Town is notified, Waste Management will be authorized to remove the item. There will be no refunds in this situation.
Information on the ban can be found at the following MassDEP page: https://www.mass.gov/servicedetails/mattress-recycling
The following items are not a part of this ban and can be disposed of as a bulk item by calling Waste Management: Futon mattresses, fold-out sofa beds, mattress pads or toppers, infant sleeping pads, air or water bed mattresses.
Why is the State Banning Mattresses/Box Springs and Textiles from the Waste Stream? Mattresses are made up almost entirely of recyclable materials. Once disassembled, more than 75 percent of mattress components can be recycled. At the same time, discarded mattresses and box springs can be notoriously difficult to manage. They are expensive to transport, take up a lot of space in landfills, are hard to compact, and can get caught in incinerator processing equipment. All of these factors result in higher disposal costs. So, recycling or reuse only makes sense. MassDEP’s 2030 Solid Waste Master Plan establishes goals to reduce trash disposal statewide by 30 percent (from 5.7 million tons in 2018 to 4 million tons in 2030) over the next decade.
Other options for disposal include donating, selling or gifting items in good condition, or asking retailers to take your old items when delivering new items.
For additional questions, please call the Billerica DPW at 978-671-1313 x 2.
