As of Nov. 1, Massachusetts residents are no longer able to throw away their old textiles and mattresses. Instead, clothes, bedding, curtains, fabric, footwear, towels and other such items must be recycled.

Only textiles that are contaminated with mold, bodily fluids, insects, oil or hazardous substances are exempt from the ban. 

The people of Wareham can recycle their textiles at the Bay State Textiles collection bins outside of the High School and Middle School.

Bay State Textiles serves over 70 municipalities in Massachusetts, taking clean, dry textiles to be reused both domestically and internationally.

For every 1,000 pounds of clothing that Bay State receives, the Wareham PTA gets $100.

Bay State Textiles breaks down the kinds of clothing dropped off into three different categories: reusable, wiping cloths, and recyclable. The recyclable cloth is cut up, turned into squares, and shipped on large pallets to developing countries to be turned into clothing. The organization accepts everything from clothing to stuffed animals to pillows.

The closest place to recycle mattresses is HandUp Mattress Recycling, 127 W. Rodney French Blvd., New Bedford, at a cost of $35 per mattress. Those needing to recycle a mattress can go there or schedule a time for HandUp representatives to pick up the mattress. While HandUp does not offer direct mattress pickup to Wareham, residents can still arrange a visit for an added fee by filling out the form at https://www.handupmattress.com/curbside-pickup. 

HandUp is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays.