BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 254|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 254
Author: Hancock (D), et al.
Amended: 5/28/13
Vote: 27
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/17/13
AYES: Hill, Calderon, Corbett, Hancock, Jackson, Leno
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gaines, Fuller, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-1, 5/23/13
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Gaines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters
SUBJECT : Solid waste: used mattresses: recycling and
recovery
SOURCE : Californians Against Waste
International Sleep Products Association
DIGEST : This bill establishes the Used Mattress Recovery and
Recycling Act (Act), a manufacturer and retailer stewardships
program, which recovers and recycles used mattresses.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Requires, under the California Integrated Waste Management Act
of 1989, each city or county source reduction and recycling
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element to include an implementation schedule that shows a
city or county must divert 25% of solid waste from landfill
disposal or transformation by January 1, 1995, through source
reduction, recycling, and composting activities, and must
divert 50% of solid waste on and after January 1, 2000. It is
a policy goal of the state that not less than 75% of solid
waste be source reduced, recycled, or composted by 2020, and
annually thereafter.
2.Requires, pursuant to the Product Stewardship for Carpets
Program, manufacturers of carpet sold in California to submit
a carpet product stewardship plan to the Department of
Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) that
demonstrates how it will manage its waste carpet.
This bill establishes the Act, and does the following:
1. Requires a mattress recycling organization (organization) to
develop and submit to CalRecycle for approval a plan for
recycling used mattresses in the state by April 1, 2015.
2. Requires CalRecycle to review and approve, disapprove, or
conditionally approve the plan within 90 days of receipt of
the plan.
3. Requires the organization to begin implementing the used
mattress recycling plan within 30 days of CalRecycle's
approval or conditional approval of the plan.
4. By January 1, 2017, requires CalRecycle to establish a state
mattress recycling baseline amount and state mattress
recycling goal, which are based on the methodology contained
in the organization's plan and the data contained in the
organization's first annual report.
5. Requires CalRecycle to review, and update as necessary, the
baseline amount and goals to ensure that the program advances
the statewide recycling goal beginning July 1, 2020, and
every four years thereafter.
6. Requires the organization to prepare a proposed used
mattress recycling program budget by July 1, 2015, and
annually thereafter. Requires CalRecycle to approve,
disapprove, or conditionally approve a final budget by
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September 1, 2015, and annually thereafter.
7. Authorizes an organization to establish a recycling charge
imposed on the sale of a mattress at the point of sale.
8. Authorizes the organization to set the charge as a flat rate
and not as a percentage of the purchase price. Prohibits the
organization from setting more than two different charges to
accommodate mattress size differentials.
9. Authorizes the organization, in the first 12 months during
which the mattress recycling charge is collected, to change
the amount of the mattress recycling charge, and shall
provide no less than 90 days' notice to the public before the
change in the amount of the charge takes place.
10.Requires the organization to use the revenue generated by
the recycling charge to fund a program for the purpose of
recycling used mattresses in the state.
11.Requires the organization to maintain minutes, books, and
records reflecting the activities and transactions of the
organization.
12.Authorizes the organization to conduct audits on parties
required to remit the recycling charge to the organization.
13.Requires the organization, mattress recyclers and renovators
to submit an annual report, which includes specified
information, to CalRecycle beginning April 1, 2016.
14.Requires, beginning July 1, 2014, retailers to offer a
consumer the option of having a used mattress picked up for
recovery, at no additional cost, at the time of delivery of a
new mattress to the consumer, or be provided with an
opportunity for free drop off of the used mattress.
15.Requires CalRecycle to post on its website a list of
manufacturers and retailers who are in compliance with the
Act.
16.Authorizes CalRecycle to impose administrative civil
penalties on any entity that is not in compliance with the
Act.
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17.Authorizes the organization to enter into joint ventures,
agreements, and contracts with third parties for purposes of
implementing the program.
18.Authorizes a retailer to contract out to a third-party for
the delivery of a new mattress or pick up of a used mattress
and authorizes a retailer to charge the consumer for the cost
of the delivery of a new mattress.
19.Authorizes a retailer or third-party contractor delivering a
new mattress to refuse to pick up a used mattress from a
consumer if the retailer or contractor determines the used
mattress is contaminated and poses a risk to personnel, new
products, or equipment.
20.Contains definitions for various terms.
Background
According to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times,
"Californians buy about 4 million new mattresses and box springs
a year. About half the time, the used mattresses that they
replace end up in a guest room or go to friends or relatives.
Many of the other 2 million discarded units get dumped on
streets or sent to landfills. Fewer than one in ten is recycled
for wood, plastic, fiber batting and springs to be used in other
products, such as steel and carpet padding. Discarded
mattresses cause blight on urban streets and are magnets for
mold, rats, insects and other vermin." (Marc Lifsher,
"California weighs mattress recycling fee," Los Angeles Times,
March 28, 2013.)
Illegal dumping and used mattress management . According to
CalRecycle, illegal dumping is the act of disposing of solid
waste at a location that is not a permitted solid waste disposal
facility and is usually done for economic gain - posing
significant social, environmental, and economic impacts
throughout the state.
The California State Association of Counties, League of
California Cities, and California Integrated Waste Management
Board requested county administrative officers and city managers
to participate in a June 2006 survey on illegal dumping and
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litter abatement. An annual local government abatement and
enforcement cost of $44 million is based on responses from 35
counties and 37 cities, so the cost is likely to be considerably
higher. The California Department of Transportation incurs a
$55 million annual cost for highway cleanups.
According to CalRecycle, local governments tend to "view illegal
dumping as a litter/nuisance abatement issue, rather than a
solid waste issue. Local responses vary greatly statewide, both
in terms of approach and level of activity. Local code
enforcement plays a lead role in some communities, while public
works departments have primary responsibility in others."
CalRecycle notes that it is "responsible for investigation,
cleanup, and enforcement of illegal solid waste disposal sites
and shares this responsibility with local enforcement agencies."
CalRecycle also established a state and local Illegal Dumping
Technical Advisory Committee to assess the extent of the illegal
dumping problem and make recommendations to CalRecycle to
"enhance the effectiveness of local and regional responses to
the problem."
When used mattresses are properly disposed of in a solid waste
facility, the mattresses are difficult to manage. Their bulk
clogs up equipment and they are difficult to compact. In
addition, after disposal, the mattresses have a tendency to
"float" to the surface of the waste.
Recycling and remanufacturing mattresses . According to
information by St. Vincent De Paul, the organization is the
"world leader in mattress recycling. Our Oakland, California
facility was the first commercially viable mattress recycling
business in the world. Today, between our operations in Oakland
and Eugene, Oregon we recycle over 120,000 mattresses and box
springs every year."
The organization notes that mattresses and box springs are cut
open and separated into various components, including cotton,
foam, wood and steel. Through this method, 85% to 90% of a
typical mattress can be recycled. Steel is melted and recast as
new items, foam is chipped for use in carpet pad, cotton is used
in insulation, and wood can be composted or used as fuel.
Remanufacturing mattresses and box springs generally involves
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removing old coverings and materials inside the mattresses and
box springs, and leaving the metal or wooden framework and
springs which are repaired as needed. New padding is placed
over the springs, foam is placed over the padding for comfort,
and a new cover is sewn on in the same way as done at new
mattress manufacturing facilities.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Ongoing costs of approximately $500,000 to the
Integrated Waste Management Fund (Special Fund) in FY
2014-15 first to draft regulations and guidance documents
and for review and certification of the mattress recycling
organization and its plan then for ongoing oversight and
enforcement.
Ongoing revenues of approximately $500,000 to the Used
Mattress Recycling Account beginning in FY 2015-16 for
reimbursement of state costs.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/28/13)
Californians Against Waste (co-source)
International Sleep Products Association (co-source)
California Apartment Association
California Retailers Association
City and County of San Francisco
City of Berkeley
City of El Cerrito
City of Martinez
City of Richmond
City of Sunnyvale
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
Costa Mesa Sanitary District
DR3 Recycling
Ecology Action
Gayle McLaughlin, Mayor of City of Richmond
LFP Mattress Recycling
Marin County Hazardous & Solid Waste Management Joint Powers
Authority
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Napa Recycling & Waste Services
National Resources Defense Council
Northern California Recycling Association
Republic Services, Inc.
Sleep Train, Inc.
Sonoma County Waste Management Agency
West Contra Costa Integrated Waste Management Authority
RM:nl:ej 5/28/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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