February 24, 2017- UTEC mattress recycling program services picks up, deconstructs and recycles mattresses from across northern New England. UTEC makes most of its money on the fees it charges for picking up old mattresses from hotels, towns and colleges, but its business model isn’t about saving matresses from landfills and incinerators. It’s about recycling the lives of young gang members and inmates who work there. UTEC has a commercial kitchen cafe, and a woodworking factory where young workers turn out cutting boards for Whole Foods. But everyone starts out in mattresses. With team work UTEC is able to tear through 25,000 mattresses a year. It’s estimated there are 30 youth gangs in Lowell area, with 1,500 members. UTEC sends out teams of gang-savvy street workers into jails to do outreach and encourage those with criminal records and troubled histories to join the social, educational and employment programs UTEC offers. To read more on UTEC’s mattress recycling program Click Here.
