Submitted by UTEC:
UTEC, a violence intervention, reentry, and advocacy nonprofit in Massachusetts that helps offer justice-involved young adults the life-skills to prevent recidivism, will enter its third year offering free curbside mattress collection to Bedford residents with municipal collection service through a continued partnership with the Town of Bedford. Bedford residents will have access to mattress collection dates, which take place bi-weekly on Mondays.
Appointments can be scheduled by visiting www.utecinc.org/mattress-recycling and selecting the “schedule service” option and Bedford from the dropdown menu or by calling 978-856-3997.
“UTEC is proud to begin our third year of partnership with the Town of Bedford, offering curbside mattress recycling to local residents,” said Gregg Croteau, CEO of UTEC. “With our continued partnership, not only is Bedford doing something that benefits the environment and residents, it is providing local young adults with valuable workforce development skills.”
“When it comes to waste reduction, this program makes a real impact –it leads to roughly 85 percent of each mattress getting recycled,” said State Sen. Mike Barrett. “Beyond that, it equips young people with work experience, setting them up for professional success. Hats off to UTEC.”
“I am grateful for this partnership between UTEC and Bedford,” said Rep. Ken Gordon. “The extension of this program into its third year will continue to positively impact our community in Bedford and the young people that UTEC supports.”
Since Massachusetts banned the disposal of mattresses in the trash in November 2022, UTEC’s program has helped residents safely dispose of and recycle thousands of mattresses across the region. UTEC’s team of young adults manually deconstruct and extract recyclable material from mattresses and box springs, with an average of 85 percent of the mattress being recycled. Young adults participate in deconstruction as well as unloading deliveries of mattresses, and develop valuable warehouse skills.
“Bedford DPW is proud to have worked with UTEC since January of 2022,” said Liz Antanavica, Trash & Recycling Administrator at the Town of Bedford. “The team at UTEC provides consistently excellent service, and feedback from residents who have scheduled mattress pick up has been overwhelmingly positive. This partnership aligns with both Bedford’s waste reduction goals and strengthens our shared community as whole.”
Social enterprise businesses have been proven to have a direct community impact. They give young adults a clean slate, as often as they need it, to gain work experience and develop essential job and life skills. Young adults working in the social enterprise business have obtained and sustained employment outside of UTEC. Every dollar spent in a social enterprise creates $2.23 in social returns.
In addition to the mattress recycling venture, UTEC also operates two additional social enterprise businesses: Madd Love Market’s Woodworking and Madd Love Meals.
UTEC is one of three organizations selected by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to be an approved mattress recycler. UTEC currently works with nearly 40 municipalities and has worked with more than 20 schools and hotels, making it the largest mattress recycler in northern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.
For more information about UTEC’s Mattress Recycling Social Enterprise, visit utecinc.org/mattress-recycling.
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