What Massachusetts Bans From the Trash (Cape Cod Guide)

What the waste ban means

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) bans certain materials from disposal at landfills and waste-to-energy facilities. The rule is in the state regulations at 310 CMR 19.017. It applies to the facilities that take trash, so in practice it shapes what your town, your hauler and your transfer station will accept.

The idea is that banned materials are worth recycling or reusing, or are harmful when burned or buried. If a load of trash contains too much of a banned material, the facility can reject it.

Common items on the ban list

RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts, a program funded by MassDEP, publishes plain-language guidance on the ban. The materials that come up most often in a house cleanout are:

• Mattresses and box springs, banned since November 2022.
• Clothing, linens, shoes and other textiles, also banned since November 2022.
• Metal, including appliances and metal furniture.
• Glass and metal or plastic food and beverage containers.
• Paper and cardboard.
• Leaves and yard waste.
• Televisions and computer monitors with cathode ray tubes, which fall under the state's electronics recycling rules.
• Whole tires.
• Lead-acid batteries.
• Asphalt pavement, brick and concrete.

The full list, and any updates, are on the MassDEP waste ban page. Rules change, so check that page before a big cleanout.

Mattresses and textiles

Since November 2022, mattresses and textiles cannot go in the regular trash. Mattresses need to be recycled or handled through a program that accepts them. MassDEP guidance says mattresses that are contaminated, for example by mold, bodily fluids or bed bugs, are not suitable for recycling and are handled differently, so ask your town or the program how they want those wrapped and delivered.

For textiles, clean items can be donated or dropped at textile collection. Damaged textiles may still be accepted for recycling at a collection point. Ask before you bag them as trash.

Household hazardous waste on Cape Cod

Products that are toxic, flammable or corrosive are not trash and are not recycling. Barnstable County runs household hazardous waste collections for Cape residents. According to the county's waste page, these collections take products such as oil-based paint, yard chemicals, cleaners and boat and auto chemicals.

The county holds these collections on set days a few times a year rather than daily, so plan a cleanout around the schedule. The current dates are on the county's waste page and on the Love Your Local Water site the county points to. Do not pour these products down a drain or into the ground, and do not put them in a trash bag.

Store hazardous products in their original containers until collection day, and keep them out of heat and away from children and pets.

Before you load the truck

1. Sort banned items out first: mattresses, textiles, metal, electronics, yard waste, paper and cardboard.
2. Set hazardous products aside for a county collection day.
3. Call or check your town's transfer station or department of public works. Fees, stickers, hours and accepted items vary from town to town.
4. Keep receipts or weight slips if you are hauling a large load, in case there is a question later.

Hiring help with a cleanout

If you are clearing a garage, a basement or a whole house, a lot of this sorting is the slow part. See how junk removal and hauling works on Cape Cod, or read the overview on our junk removal page. To ask about a job, request a quote or call (508) 400-5788, Monday to Saturday, 7am to 5pm. Our next post covers the other side of a big change: what to update after you move.

Common questions