(Additional photograph below.)
A mattress recycling operation, now relocated to Haverhill, received a state welcome Wednesday morning from Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bonnie Heiple.
Heiple praised the social justice nonprofit for helping the state divert from landfills and incinerators about 53,000 mattresses and box springs annually from 42 communities, hotels and universities. UTEC, now recycling at 231 Neck Road in the Ward Hill Business Park, takes them apart, allowing components to be turned into other products. Metal springs, for example, are destined to become screws and bolts, foam will become the padded backing on new carpeting, wood frames will be turned into mulch and fabric toppers will become new recycled mattresses and dog beds.
“You’re taking away greenhouse gas emissions from creating new products. You’re saving landfill space. You’re saving incinerator emissions. So, it’s helping us solve a lot of problems,” Heiple said.
State Rep. Andy X. Vargas noted, in addition to the environmental advantages, the center provides jobs to young people 18 to 25, many of whom have been involved in the criminal justice system.
“The bottom line is that this project checks a lot of boxes. It’s environmental. It’s workforce. It’s community and jobs. And there are very few initiatives and programs that check multiple boxes like that at once,” Vargas noted.
State Sen. Pavel M. Payano concurred. saying UTEC is a model for helping young people who lack direction and finding a productive outlet for their lives.
“UTEC has shown that you can take kids growing up from all these different places, give them skills and connect them to actual opportunities and see them grow. I think that has allowed other individuals to see that other things are possible as well,” Payano said.
Jaime Vazquez and Jaydiahz Monegro gave personal testimonies on how UTEC helped them find new directions. Haverhill Mayor Melinda E. Barrett thanked UTEC for choosing Haverhill, calling the operation “a win for sustainability, for the local economy and the long-term success” of local youths.
UTEC had been working out a warehouse in Lawrence but the building, owned by CommunityWorks, is now being turned into affordable housing. The Haverhill building is larger, 17,000-square-feet, allowing the nonprofit to expand its operation.
Founded in Lowell in 1999 as the United Teen Equality Center to address gun violence, UTEC serves some 800 young people a year. In addition to its mattress recycling business, it operates a woodworking studio which sells handcrafted items through its Madd Love Market and a culinary arts kitchen with its Breaking Barriers Kitchen food truck. Its street work and reentry social workers find young people where they are in Lowell, Lawrence and Haverhill, builds relationships and provides practical support through mental health counseling and educational coaching to help young people find meaningful training and employment.
During ceremonies marking the opening of UTEC mattress recycling center, Anna Lucia Huaico Maza takes a knife to an old mattress to show they’re taken apart. Eighty-five percent of the components that make up a mattress can be recycled into other products. (WHAV News photograph.)