In Santa Barbara’s most recent City Council race, the proliferation of abandoned mattresses dumped on neighborhood streets and sidewalks emerged as a hot new micro-issue. Offering a modicum of relief, a new state law went into effect January 1 requiring mattress manufacturers to underwrite the cost of mattress recycling.
Translated into practical realities for South Coast residents, MarBorg Industries is now collecting abandoned mattresses free of charge for residents dropping them and box springs off at its Quarantina Street facility. In addition, under MarBorg’s franchise agreement with City Hall, residential customers are entitled to two free pickups for bulky items. MarBorg is required to make up to 1,000 free pickups at the behest of City Hall to remove unsightly and blightly junk — mattresses, refrigerators, couches, TVs, and the like — dumped in the city’s public spaces. Since the beginning of the year, MarBorg’s Brian Borgatello estimated his company has picked up 2,500 abandoned mattresses.
Whether the new law is sufficient to allay concerns of neighborhood activists — primarily on the Westside — who are increasingly agitated about rogue dumping operations has yet to be seen. Susan Lafond with the recently formed Westside Community Group is lobbying City Hall to offer residents rebates up to $12 a mattress to encourage greater participation.