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New State Recycling Law for Recycling Mattresses to take Effect November 1st, 2022

|   City News

Per the Commonwealth of Massachusetts new mandatory Mattress Recycling Law that will take effect on November 1, 2022, the City of Springfield Department of Public Works is issuing immediate changes to the city’s bulk pickup operations for the collection of mattresses.

Per the State law, mattresses can only be recycled at locations that have been approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).  Standard waste disposal entities that are not under State contract will no longer be able to accept mattresses after November 1, 2022.  As such, and due to the requirements of collection and disposal per the DEP, the Springfield DPW will collect bulk pickup appointments for mattresses separately from the collection of standard bulk items. 

Under this new State law, residents that need to schedule a bulk pickup appointment for a mattress, must indicate that a mattress is to be picked up.  Per the State law and DEP, a separate bulk truck will collect mattresses for disposal/recycling.  Other bulk items that are scheduled will be picked up once the collection of mattresses have been completed. 

Residents can still call the city of Springfield’s 311 Call Center at (413) 736-3111 to schedule their bulk pickup appointments.  Please note, if a resident does not indicate that a mattress is to be picked up during the call to schedule the appointment and decides to put a mattress out for pick up, DPW will be unable to collect the mattress, per the DEP requirements for collection and disposal.

In addition to the new requirements under the new State law, there will also be an additional cost upon the City for the collection and disposal of mattresses, however there will be no increase to the cost of the bulk sticker for residents.  Again, per the new State law, only entities that have been approved by DEP can be utilized and contracted by the City. 

Under the requirements of collection and disposal per the DEP, the city of Springfield will be contracting with Tough Stuff Recycling out of Fitchburg, MA.  Per the requirements of the vendor, the city will be required to have a trailer on-site for the collection of mattresses at Tapley Street that, when full, will be collected by Tough Stuff Recycling for disposal.  It is estimated to cost the city approximately $850 for collecting the trailer and $475 per month for rental fee to have the trailer on-site.  In total, it will cost approximately $33 per mattress for disposal. 

The vendor will also require that all mattresses and box springs that are collected must be placed in plastic mattress bags.  These disposal mattress bags are available at Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walmart, and through Amazon, as well as other retailers.   Residents are required to have their mattress and box spring in a plastic mattress bag for bulk pick up.  If the mattresses and box springs are not properly placed in the bags, DPW will not be able to pick them up.  Mattress plastic bags that come with the purchase of a new mattress / box spring can be reused as long as they are 100% sealed with duct tape.

The DPW collects approximately 2,500 mattresses per year.  Under these new State requirements, it is estimated to cost the city approximately $82,500 annual for the collection and recycling of mattresses.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno emphasized that although the new State law will impact the DPW’s process to collect and dispose of mattresses, there will be no additional cost increase to the bulk sticker price for residents

“This is a quality-of-life issue and even though there is a State/DEP mandated cost increase, it is important to my administration that our bulk sticker prices will remain the same for our residents at $8.00,” said Mayor Sarno.

Residents can purchase their bulk sticker at $8.00 per item at the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall, 36 Court Street, Springfield, MA, or at any Big Y Supermarket in Springfield, and also in East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, Ludlow and West Springfield too.    

The city of Springfield DPW would like to thank residents for their patience and understanding as the city adjust their bulk collection process and schedule for mattresses to adhere to the new State law that will take effect on November 1, 2022.

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Page last updated:  Tuesday, March 1, 2022 01:32 pm