Photo: This will cost you to be removed come July 1 (Credit: Jeffrey M. Vinocur, Wikimedia Commons)
It’s a claim to fame Belmont wants to shed: The Town of Homes is where residents of neighboring towns throw out their threadbare mattresses and large, oversized items at no cost due to Belmont’s tradition of complimentary sidewalk collection.
“We have become the dumping ground for surrounding communities to deposit their mattresses for free,” said Select Board Chair Elizabeth Dionne. And the ‘dump and run’ practice has reached a level beyond a nuisance, said Jay Marcotte, head of Belmont’s DPW.
In a move that Dionne hopes “will stop [Belmont] from bearing externality of other town’s large item trash,” beginning July 1, if you want a mattress, bookcase, or anything that can’t be stuffed into your trash cart, it’s gonna cost you after the Select Board unanimously approved the new fee structure.
Marcotte presented the suggested new payments for three catagories of pickups come July 1.
| Change in cost to remove bulky items | Prices for Pickups before July 1, 2025 | Prices for Pickups after July 1, 2025 |
| Mattress/Box spring | Free | $50 |
| Bulk items | free (one per week) | $40 |
| Appliances | $25 | $40, $55 for televisions |
Marcotte said under the new plan, residents will call the town, which will coordinate the pickup and take the payment. Residents should know that if they contact Waste Management, the town’s waste and recycling provider, to take away a mattress or box spring, it will cost double the town’s rate. The town is working with a outside vendor to recycle each mattress. Marcotte said the new fees will only generate enough revenue to cover the contrasted costs of the vendors.
Waste Management will continue to manage bulk items and appliance pickups under the new payment structure.
Marcotte said information on the updated costs for mattress and bulk item removal will be sent to residents with their next municipal bills and on the DPW’s website.
