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Textiles banned from Massachusetts landfills starting Nov. 1

Oct 20, 2022 12:45 am

Scott Stafford reports for The Berkshire Eagle that beginning November 1, in Massachusetts it will be a state code violation to put textiles and mattresses in the trash. By adding textiles and mattresses to its disposal ban, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is prohibiting those items from being deposited in landfills. The ultimate goal is to reduce the amount of waste buried in the still available space in landfills, according to DEP officials. John Fischer, DEP deputy division director for solid waste, said that “95 percent of textiles recovered can be reused.” The DEP’s final 2030 Solid Waste Master Plan establishes goals to reduce disposal statewide by 30 percent — from 5.7 million tons in 2018 to 4 million tons in 2030. Massachusetts residents and businesses dispose of roughly 230,000 tons of textiles every year, even though nearly 95 percent of it could be reused or recycled instead of thrown away. About six percent of the waste delivered to combustion facilities for disposal is made up of clothing, curtains, towels, and other fabrics. Massachusetts has five landfills left and three will be closed by 2030. Textiles that should now be recycled include pants, shirts, skirts, dresses tops jackets, pajamas, doggie beds, hats, gloves, shoes, blankets, sheets, pillowcases, and mattresses. A list of places in Massachusetts that will accept textile goods for repurposing or recycling is available at the DEP website. Read the full story in The Berkshire Eagle.

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