Hiding inside an old textile mill in the middle of Lawrence,in the Merrimack Valley just north of Boston,is UTEC Mattress,one of Massachusetts’three mattress recycling facilities.’Our main mission is to reduce waste going into landfill or through the incinerator,’said Aaron Uehara,the facility's mattress recycling operations supervisor.’Our operation is smaller in scale than most mattress recyclers,as we do just 20,000 units a year.’Collection is currently a combination of residential and commercial pick-ups and commercial drop-offs,plus 20-yard containers for mattress dumping at waste transfer stations.’In many towns,the waste transfer facility is not able to pull them apart and separate the materials,and this programme allows different towns to recycle,’Uehara said.’Rather than having to fill up a box-truck to drop them off,they can load up our van.’UTEC recently started a pilot project with the city of Cambridge-just across the Charles River from Boston-to carry out kerb-side pick-up.Clearly,Uehara says,this is the most desirable way to collect mattresses from the consumer point of view,but it's expensive.’It's easier to collect and recycle computers,because there is more value on the back end,’he said.’The cost is not all being put on the consumer.’Cambridge is a good option for a pilot scheme because the housing density makes alternatives difficult.UTEC also works with various colleges and universities.
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