BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1274
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 2, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 1274 (Hancock) - As Amended: June 16, 2014
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill provides technical and clarifying revisions to the
Used Mattress Recovery and Recycling Act. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Revises the definition of "solid waste facility to conform to
the California Integrated Waste Management Act.
2)Prohibits CalRecycle from disclosing any confidential
proprietary information in an audit conducted by the
department or annual report submitted by recyclers and
renovators. Changes the due date of the annual report from
July 1, 2017 to May 1, 2017, and specifies that the report be
submitted to CalRecycle and to the organization.
3)Adds authorized solid waste operations as eligible for
participation in the mattress recycling program. Adds a
recycler, renovator, and authorized solid waste operation to
authorized used mattress drop off points for individuals at no
additional charge.
4)Revises the reimbursement amount paid to mattress recyclers,
solid waste facilities, and solid waste operations.
5)Authorizes CalRecycle to impose civil penalties against
distributors and take enforcement actions against distributors
and recyclers. Deletes the authorization for the expenditure
of penalties to offset costs incurred by the department.
6)Clarifies CalRecycle is prohibited from adopting emergency
regulations with regard to any provision of the Act other than
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the authorized adoption of emergency regulations relating to
the used mattress recovery and recycling plan and program
budget.
7)Requires a manufacturer, renovator, retailer, or distributor
that sells a mattress to a consumer to add the charge to the
purchase price of the mattress and remit the charge collected
to the organization beginning 90 days after the date
CalRecycle approves the organization's budget, instead of 90
days after CalRecycle's approval of the plan.
FISCAL EFFECT
Negligible
COMMENTS
1)Rationale. SB 254 (Hancock and Correa), chapter 388,
statutes of 2013, established the Used Mattress Recovery and
Recycling Act and required a mattress recycling organization
to develop and implement a manufacturer and retailer
stewardship program to recover and recycle used mattresses.
In signing SB 254, Governor Brown issued a signing message
directing CalRecyle to work with the authors of the bill to
clarify ambiguous language and provide further specificity.
This bill addresses the issues raised by Governor Brown in his
signing message and contains related technical and clarifying
changes.
2)Background. According to the Product Stewardship Institute,
approximately 40 million mattresses and box springs are sold
in the United States each year for use in residential and
institutional settings. It is estimated that over four
million mattresses and box springs were sold in California in
2010.
According to a case study prepared by UC Santa Barbara for
CalRecycle, it is estimated that around 4.2 million mattresses
and box springs reach the end of their lives in California
every year. Whether they are recycled or disposed, used
mattresses represent a significant cost to manage. Analysis
by the Product Stewardship Institute indicates that many local
governments are paying a per mattress disposal fee ranging
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from $9 to $30.
3)Recycling Mattresses. The recycling process for mattresses
and box springs consists of manually removing each layer of
material. As a result, only a small percentage of mattresses
and box springs are dismantled and recycled.
According to St. Vincent DePaul-DR3 Recycling, there are
currently five used mattresses recycling companies in
California. Up to 80% to 90% of a mattress can be recycled by
breaking it down into the different components. Steel and
polyurethane foam are most valuable materials with
well-established markets, while cotton and wood materials can
also be captured and re-sold. While some mattress components
have value, including steel springs and polyurethane foam,
there is still a net cost for collection and recycling which
discourages large-scale recycling.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081