State legislators during the recently concluded 2012 session failed to pass a law making Connecticut the first state in the nation requiring mattress producers recycle old mattresses.
The bill – intended to stop folks from littering the landscape with discarded mattresses – made it through the Senate but was not called for a vote in the House of Representatives before the General Assembly adjourned May 9.
Wednesday state and Bridgeport city officials will celebrate the opening of what they claim to be the first nonprofit mattress recycling facility in the Northeast.
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Mayor Finch, State DEEP and DECD Commissioners to Celebrate
Opening of 1st Nonprofit Mattress Recycling Facility
WHAT: On Wednesday, June 27, Mayor Bill Finch will join DEEP Commissioner Esty and DECD Smith, and the Greater Bridgeport Community Enterprises/ Green Team to celebrate the opening of the first, nonprofit mattress deconstruction and materials recycling enterprise, the only enterprise of its kind in the Northeast.
Park City Green is a collaborative business venture of Greater Bridgeport Community Enterprises/The Green Team, Family ReEntry’s Fresh Start Program and the St. Vincent dePaul Society of Lane County, Oregon, with support from the City of Bridgeport and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
“This enterprise represents the triple bottom line for the City of Bridgeport and the state,” said Mayor Bill Finch. “It is a sustainable business, taking apart mattresses and recycling the metal, foam, cotton, and wood; it will create jobs in the ‘green’ economy by hiring 25 ex-offenders and other low-income unemployed residents; and, it will help save the City and other municipalities on recycling costs, saving money on the bottom line.”
When fully operational, Park City Green will recycle 100,000 mattresses a year, removing 4,600 tons from the solid waste stream.
Park City Green is located in Bridgeport’s Eco-Industrial Park and is part of the City’s BGreen 2020 Sustainability Plan.
WHERE: Park City Green, 459 Iranistan Avenue (corner of Iranistan and South Avenues, near the I-95 underpass), Bridgeport, CT
WHEN: 2 to 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 27