On November 30th, Zero Waste Arlington hosted the latest webinar in our “Earth to Arlington… Let’s Talk Trash,” series titled “New Waste Bans: What You Need to Know“.
The webinar focused on recent updates that all took effect November 1, 2022:
- Textiles are no longer allowed in Massachusetts curbside trash (or blue bins)
- Mattress are no longer allowed in Massachusetts curbside trash
- An Arlington retail ban on single-use plastic water bottles
Moderator Scott (Mully) Mullen, a Zero Waste Arlington committee member, interviewed Jim Balin, a fellow committee member who worked on the single-use plastic water bottle ban, and Charlotte Milan, the Town of Arlington’s Recycling Coordinator who spoke about the textile and mattress waste bans.
We’ve gathered the following helpful resources for those who want to learn more:
Zero Waste Arlington resources
- Textile & mattress information
- Single-use plastic water bottle ban information
- ‘Arlington on Tap’ campaign to build a network of water refill stations
- Additional resources
- Past webinars from the ‘Earth to Arlington… Let’s Talk Trash’ series
Town of Arlington resources
- Town of Arlington Recycling, Trash and Composting (includes information on how to recycle mattresses)
- Helpsy – textile curbside pick-up for Arlington residents – it’s free!
- Note: The Town of Arlington is working to secure a vendor partnership to recycle mattresses. We will post information on this site as soon as it is available.
Media articles
- Boston Globe short video on mattress recycling
- RecycleSmart Article: The Truth About Plastics Recycling
- Boston Globe Opinion: “World Can’t Recycle Its Way Out Of the Plastic Crisis” (November 26, 2022)
- Boston Globe Opinion: “Is There A Future for Plastic Recycling?
Massachusetts resources
