BILL ANALYSIS Ó 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