One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.
That’s probably how the recycling industry views Massachusetts’ ban on the disposing of textiles and mattresses in the trash, effective today.
Beginning Nov. 1, these new disposal regulations include clothing, footwear, bedding, towels, curtains, fabric, and similar products. However, they don’t cover items contaminated with mold, bodily fluids, insects, oil, or hazardous substances, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.
Mattresses — defined by state regulators as “any resilient material or combination of materials that is enclosed by ticking, used alone or in combination with other products, and that is intended for sleeping upon” — can also no longer be taken to waste sites.
According to DEP, Massachusetts dumps about 250,000 tons of textiles in the trash every year.
Of the approximately 600,000 mattresses thrown out annually, only one-third…
