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New rules affect recycling mattresses; Millbury responds with new program


MILLBURY – While local officials have known since the beginning of the year there would be new state regulations for mattress disposal, it is not until recently that the state has released the new rules.

In Millbury, that means that, as of Nov. 1, it will cost $45 to dispose of a mattress; if you are disposing of a set (mattress and box springs), it will be $90. But that is only if they are so-called clean mattresses. There will be an additional price for mattresses that are too dirty to be recycled.

DPW Director Keith Caruso met with selectmen for the first time at their Oct. 11 meeting, then updated information at the board’s Oct. 18 meeting after an informational meeting Oct. 17 with the state Department of Environmental Protection, which provided local towns with details of the regulations.

Originally, it was thought that the town could charge $40 for mattresses being recycled, but residents will also need to buy a clear, plastic bag – available at the town hall or transfer station – which will bump the price up.

The charge will cover the town charges for the company – Tuff Stuff Recycling – to pick up the mattresses, plus the rent for a dumpster at the transfer station.

The bag will contain any bed bugs and allow the transfer station staff not to have to handle used, stained mattresses.

“If the bag is lost for any reason, we can put on the form that there will be a $5 additional fee,” Caruso said. “They can then come back and purchase another bag.”

The bag will be king sized so all mattresses will fit.

The price will continue until until July 1, the beginning of the next fiscal year, when the DPW will have better figures on how many mattresses will be dropped off and how many times Tuff Stuff will have to be called to pick up the mattresses.

Caruso said DEP said communities are charging between $25 and $70 for each piece.

If a mattress is deemed non-recyclable due to its condition, there will be an additional $15. That determination will be made by the transfer station staff.

“Mass. DEP said it takes a lot for a mattress not to be accepted,” Caruso said. “In the whole state, maybe 1% or 2% are non-conforming mattresses.”

If a Millbury resident does not have a transfer station sticker – or does not have a vehicle to transport a mattress to the transfer station – then there will be a $55 per unit cost for curbside pickup, done through the company, not town hall. The mattress will have to be brought to the curb.

The 20-foot, enclosed container will be behind the transfer station building, where the Boy Scouts are now.

“We would be doing the stacking” in the container, Caruso said.

While the regulations were expected, Caruso said it was difficult to get quotes for the costs until the regulations were released.

“Now they are coming out of the woodwork,” Caruso said The other company the Millbury DPW considered, Green Mattress, would have required a $55 per piece fee.

In June, the DPW collected 39 mattresses and in July, they collected 40. The number dropped to 20 and 21 in August and September, respectively. Selectman Scott Despres pointed out that transfer station permits are released in June. Previously, residents could drop off one mattress for free.

“We’re not the only ones struggling with this,” Caruso said. “It seems like everyone is running around trying to find a carrier.”