BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 254
Page 1
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
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|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
SB 254
Page 2
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,
SB 254
Page 3
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
SB 254
Page 4
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
SB 254
Page 5
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
FN: 0002515
SB 254
Page 6