BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 254
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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 254 (Hancock)
          As Amended  September 6, 2013
          2/3 vote

           SENATE VOTE  :32-5  
           
           NATURAL RESOURCES   7-0         APPROPRIATIONS      15-1        
           
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          |Ayes:|Chesbro, Grove, Garcia,   |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow,   |
          |     |Muratsuchi, Skinner,      |     |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian  |
          |     |Stone, Williams           |     |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
          |     |                          |     |Gomez, Hall, Holden,      |
          |     |                          |     |Linder, Pan, Quirk, Weber |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |Nays:|Donnelly                  |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 

           SUMMARY :  This bill establishes the Used Mattress Recovery and  
          Recycling Act (Act), which requires mattress manufacturers and  
          retailers to develop a mattress stewardships program to increase  
          the recovery and recycling of used mattresses to reduce illegal  
          dumping.  Specifically,  this bill  :
           
           1)On or before July 1, 2014, requires "a qualified industry  
            organization" to establish an organization for purposes of  
            developing, implementing, and administering a mattress  
            recycling plan (plan).  Specifies that the mattress recycling  
            organization be composed of manufacturers, renovators, and  
            retailers.  

          2)Requires all manufacturers, renovators, and retailers to  
            register with the organization by January 1, 2015.  Authorizes  
            retailers to register as a manufacturer for a brand for which  
            there is no registered manufacturer.   

          3)On and after specified dates, prohibits retailers,  
            manufacturers, and renovators from selling or distributing  
            mattresses in the state that are not in compliance with the  
            requirements of the bill.  

          4)On or before July 1, 2015, requires the organization to submit  








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            the plan to Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery  
            (CalRecycle), and requires CalRecycle to approve,  
            conditionally approve, or disapprove the plan, based on  
            specified criteria and within specified timelines.   

          5)On or before January 1, 2018, requires CalRecycle, in  
            consultation with the organization and taking into account  
            specified factors, to establish the state mattress recycling  
            baseline amount and the state mattress recycling goal.   
            Requires CalRecycle to review and update the recycling goal  
            every four years.  

          6)On and after July 1, 2019, requires the organization to  
            demonstrate a good faith effort to comply with the state  
            mattress recycling goal.  

          7)On or before July 1, 2015, and annually thereafter, requires  
            the organization to develop a used mattress recycling program  
            budget, as specified.  Requires CalRecycle to approve or  
            disapprove the budget by September 1, 2015, and annually  
            thereafter.  

          8)Requires the organization to establish a "mattress recycling  
            charge" to be added to the purchase price of a mattress.   
            Specifies that the charge be sufficient to fund the  
            organization's requirements under the bill.  Requires the  
            charge to be a flat rate, and permits no more than two  
            different charges for different mattress sizes.  

          9)Establishes civil penalties for violations of the bill's  
            requirements not to exceed $500 per day, and up to $5,000 per  
            day for intentional, knowing, or reckless violations.  

          10)Upon a finding that a manufacturer, organization, renovator,  
            or retailer is not in compliance, authorizes CalRecycle to  
            revoke the plan approval, remove the entity from the published  
            listing, and require additional reporting requirements as  
            needed for compliance.  

          11)Authorizes CalRecycle to adopt emergency regulations to  
            implement the requirements of the bill.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, this bill has one-time costs of $750,000 (special  
          fund) for CalRecycle to adopt regulations, implement, monitor,  








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          and enforce the program and ongoing operational costs of  
          $500,000.  All costs, including start-up costs, are required to  
          be reimbursed from the proceeds of the mattress recycling  
          charge.

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, "In recent years, the  
          problem of illegally dumped mattresses has become more and more  
          serious, especially in the parts of the state that have been  
          hardest hit by the recent recession.  The accumulation of these  
          used mattresses in public spaces, especially if left for [a]  
          long period of time, can pose a serious public health problem.   
          Used mattresses can be a breeding ground for mold and pests.   
          The scope of the problem is real and growing.  In Oakland, for  
          example, between 18 and 35 mattresses are recovered by the city  
          per day.  The city estimates that municipal operations devoted  
          to recovering these mattresses cost approximately $500,000  
          annually.  The City of Richmond estimates that it has recovered  
          approximately 5,000 illegally dumped mattresses from December  
          2010 to March 2012.  The City of Los Angeles estimates that it  
          recovers 120-150 illegally dumped mattresses per day.  The City  
          and County of San Francisco recovers approximately 75 to 80  
          mattresses per day."  The author states that this bill provides  
          a method to recover and recycle used mattresses to minimize  
          illegal disposal.  
           
          Mattress management  :  Mattresses and box springs are difficult  
          to move and inconvenient to dispose of properly, resulting in  
          high levels of illegal disposal.  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."

          Even when properly disposed of in a solid waste facility, they  
          are difficult to manage.  Their bulk clogs up equipment, and  
          they are difficult to compact.  Even after disposal, they have a  
          tendency to "float" to the surface of the waste.  

          CalRecycle is the state entity responsible for investigation,  
          cleanup, and enforcement of illegal solid waste disposal sites  
          and shares this responsibility with local enforcement agencies.   
          In 2006, CalRecycle established a state and local Illegal  
          Dumping Technical Advisory Committee (IDTAC) to assess the  








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          extent of the illegal dumping problem and make recommendations  
          to "enhance the effectiveness of local and regional responses to  
          the problem."  According to CalRecycle information presented at  
          a meeting of the IDTAC, approximately 4.2 million mattresses and  
          box springs are disposed (legally or illegally) each year in  
          California.  CalRecycle estimates that 85% of the material is  
          recyclable and that mattress recycling would create  
          approximately 100 new jobs.  

          The California State Association of Counties, League of  
          California Cities, and the former California Integrated Waste  
          Management Board (now CalRecycle) requested county  
          administrative officers and city managers to participate in a  
          June 2006 survey on illegal dumping and litter abatement.   
          According to the survey, local government abatement and  
          enforcement costs were approximately $44 million based on  
          responses from 35 counties and 37 cities, so the true cost is  
          likely considerably higher.  The California Department of  
          Transportation spends approximately $55 million annually for  
          highway cleanups.

          Mattress recyclers separate the various components of mattresses  
          and box springs, including cotton, foam, wood and steel.   
          Through this method, 85% to 90% of a typical mattress can be  
          recycled.  Steel is recast as new items, foam is chipped for use  
          in carpet padding, cotton is used in insulation, and wood can be  
          composted or used as fuel.

          Renovating mattresses and box springs generally involves  
          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 and foam is  
          placed over the springs, and new mattress ticking is sewn on.

          Estimates on the number of mattress recyclers in California  
          vary.  The Assembly Natural Resources Committee was able to  
          identify a handful of facilities, located in the Los Angeles  
          area, the Bay Area, and in Central California.  These facilities  
          deconstruct the mattresses on-site and create green jobs for  
          Californians.  

           Producer responsibility or advance recovery fee  ?  This bill  
          creates a producer-managed used mattress recovery and recycling  
          program.  The bill requires a mattress recycling organization to  
          develop and implement a manufacturer, renovator, and retailer  








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          stewardship program to recover and recycle mattresses at the end  
          of their useful life in an environmentally sound manner.  The  
          bill includes an advance recovery fee (ARF) to be paid by the  
          consumer of a new mattress at the point of sale.  The fee  
          revenue funds the proposed program, which is managed by the  
          organization and overseen and enforced by CalRecycle. 

          Extended producer responsibility (EPR), and take-back laws in  
          particular, provide that manufacturers should internalize  
          disposal costs associated with their products.  EPR involves:  
          1) the shifting of responsibility upstream toward the producer  
          and away from the municipalities; and, 2) providing incentives  
          to producers to incorporate environmental considerations in the  
          design of their products.  

          Some environmental groups disagree with ARFs and prefer "true"  
          EPR policies that place end-of-life management for products on  
          the manufacturers, on the grounds that only EPR provides  
          incentives for ecological design of products and incorporates  
          the costs for the product's life-cycle into the cost of the  
          product.  A coalition of United States environmental groups has  
          asserted, "[a] system that merely collects money at point of  
          sale and hands it over to a government agency to 'solve the  
          problem' does little to encourage clean production - since there  
          are no built-in incentives in the approach to encourage better  
          design?"  (Noah Sachs, Planning the Funeral at the Birth:   
          Extended Producer Responsibility in the European Union and the  
          United States, Harvard Environmental Law Review, 2006.)  

          This bill combines a core concept of EPR, by holding producers  
          responsible for the management of the system, with an ARF on  
          consumers at the point-of-sale.  Rather than requiring  
          CalRecycle to create and implement a used mattress recovery and  
          recycling program, this bill requires mattress manufacturers and  
          retailers to do so, through a non-profit organization, which  
          requires the producers to be part of the waste solution.  This  
          bill also attempts to ensure proper checks and balances by  
          providing oversight and enforcement authority to CalRecycle.

           
          Analysis Prepared by  :  Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)  
          319-2092 


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