BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1118
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1118
AUTHOR: Hancock
AMENDED: April 9, 2012
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: April 23, 2012
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Randy Pestor
SUBJECT : PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP: MATTRESSES
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Under the California Integrated Waste Management Act of
1989, requires each city or county source reduction and
recycling 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. (Public Resources Code �41780). 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. (Public Resources Code
�41780.01).
2) Pursuant to the Dry Cell Battery Management Act,
establishes requirements for the production and labeling of
consumer products with dry cell batteries and sets limits
for the amount of mercury in those batteries. (�15000 et
seq.).
3) Pursuant to the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act,
establishes a mandatory take-back program for rechargeable
batteries at retail locations. (�42451 et seq.).
4) Pursuant to the Product Stewardship for Carpets Program,
requires manufacturers of carpet sold in California to
submit a carpet product stewardship plan to the Department
of Resources Recycling and Recovery (DRRR) that
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demonstrates how it will manage its waste carpet. (�42970
et seq.).
5) Pursuant to the Architectural Paint Recovery Program,
requires architectural paint manufacturers to develop and
implement a program to manage waste latex paint. (�48700
et seq.).
6) Pursuant to the Mercury Thermostat Collection Act of 2008,
requires manufacturers of mercury-added thermostats sold in
this state before January 1, 2006, to establish and
maintain a collection, transportation, recycling, and
disposal program for out-of-service mercury-added
thermostats. (Health and Safety Code �25214.8.10 et seq.).
This bill enacts the Used Mattress Law under the California
Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (Public Resources Code
�42985 et seq.) that:
1)Requires a mattress manufacturer, on and after July 1, 2013,
to establish and implement a program to do all of the
following:
a) Provide and arrange for pickup of used mattresses
bearing the manufacturer's brand name from a person at no
cost to the consumer.
b) Provide and arrange for pickup of used mattresses at
the request of a public agency at no cost to the public
agency.
c) Ensure that the used mattresses are recycled to the
maximum extent feasible.
2)Authorizes a manufacturer or retailer to recover its costs
of implementing the above program by incorporating a charge
into the mattress purchase price.
3)Requires a mattress retailer, on and after July 1, 2013, in
coordination with the manufacturer, to provide or arrange
for pickup of a used mattress from a consumer purchasing a
new mattress.
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4)Authorizes a mattress manufacturer, in lieu of establishing
and implementing the above programs, to voluntarily remit a
$25 mattress recovery and recycling payment to DRRR for each
mattress sold by the manufacturer in the state. Moneys
collected must be deposited into a Mattress Recovery and
Recycling Account, to be established in the Integrated Waste
Management Fund, and expended by DRRR upon appropriation by
the Legislature to implement a program to facilitate
recovery and recycling of used mattresses.
5)Provides definitions for certain terms (e.g.,
"manufacturer," "mattress," "retailer").
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of Bill . According to the author, SB 1118 "seeks to
address the issue of illegal dumping of mattresses. As an
example, the city of Oakland currently picks up
approximately 18 to 35 illegally-dumped mattresses per day.
Oakland believes that the annual cost of municipal
operations to pick up and dispose of these mattresses is
$501,355."
The author notes that "This bill would require manufacturers
to arrange for no-cost pick up services of used mattresses
bearing the individual mattress manufacturer's brand name.
These pick up services would be available to both individual
consumers and public agencies. The bill also directs
mattress retailers to provide for pickup of a used mattress
from a consumer who is purchasing a new mattress from the
retailer. These pickup programs may be run in conjunction
with mattress manufacturers."
According to the author, "A manufacturer or retailer would be
permitted to incorporate an up-front charge in the purchase
of a new mattress in order to pay for these pickup programs.
As an alternative to developing a pick-up program as
described above, a mattress manufacturer may voluntarily
remit a mattress recovery and recycling payment of $25 per
mattress to a 'Mattress Recovery and Recycling Account.'
The funds in this account will be used by the state to
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develop and implement a program to recover and recycle
mattresses."
2)Illegal dumping and used mattress issues . According to
DRRR, 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 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 DRRR, 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."
DRRR also notes that it is "responsible for investigation,
cleanup, and enforcement of illegal solid waste disposal
sites and shares this responsibility with local enforcement
agencies (LEA)." DRRR also established a state and local
Illegal Dumping Technical Advisory Committee (IDTAC) to
assess the extent of the illegal dumping problem and make
recommendations to DRRR to "enhance the effectiveness of
local and regional responses to the problem."
At the IDTAC December 14, 2011, meeting, Ms. Cookie
Robles-Wong (representing Oakland and Chair of the IDTAC)
noted that "City of Oakland staff pick up an average of 35
illegally dumped mattresses/day, haul them to their
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corporation yard, place them in a Waste Management dumpster,
and WM hauls them to a mattress recycler. There is
considerable expense to the City to provide the service, and
many residents are wondering how to reduce the dumping and
reduce the cost to local government." Minutes of the
meeting note that: a) a large percentage of mattress
material can be recycled, b) Senator Hancock has expressed
an interest in carrying legislation on mattresses, c) the
concept of building the pickup and disposal costs into the
franchise fee was discussed, d) the concept of integrating
the pickup service into the service rates was discussed, and
e) the need for data on costs for collection and disposal of
illegally dumped mattresses was discussed.
Minutes for the IDTAC December 14, 2011, meeting indicate that
the DRRR staff will contact IDTAC members to identify
existing data available in their jurisdictions on mattresses
including: a) cost estimates for public and private
collection and disposal of waste mattresses, b) number of
illegally dumped waste mattresses collected in a given time
period, c) estimated number of waste mattresses collected at
transfer stations or landfills in a given time period, d)
number of mattresses recycled versus incorporated into a
landfill, and e) availability of mattress recycling
companies in the geographical area and the per unit charge
for transporting and recycling mattresses. This data will
be presented at the May 2012 IDTAC meeting.
3)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
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or used as fuel.
Remanufacturing 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 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.
4)Support and opposition concerns . According to Californians
Against Waste (CAW) in supporting SB 1118, "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." CAW notes
that this bill "will reduce the financial burden on local
governments and protect the environment by requiring
manufacturers to take responsibility for establishing and
implementing a collection and recycling program for used
mattresses. An industry-run program using a market based
approach will be more efficient and cost effective than
multiple county-level programs."
According to the International Sleep Products Association
(ISPA) in opposing SB 1118, "The 'Extended Producer
Responsibility' system (EPR) it imposes would require the
mattress industry to develop a costly and inefficient system
for collecting and processing used mattresses that will hurt
California consumers, retailers, mattress manufacturing
industry and state tax revenues." ISPA notes that this is
"nothing more than a direct cost shift from local agencies
to manufacturers who ultimately would have to pass these
costs on to new buyers through higher prices under the guise
of environmental law."
5)Additional information will be helpful . As noted above,
certain used mattress data will be presented at the May 2012
IDTAC meeting. If the Committee believes a legislative
response is needed to address used mattress issues, it will
be helpful for the author and committee staff to review this
IDTAC information to assist in ensuring that SB 1118
effectively addresses used mattress issues, including
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whether a $25 in lieu fee is sufficient.
6)Technical amendment needed . The reference to "paragraph (1)
of subdivision (a)" in subdivision (b) of �42985.1 (page 3,
lines 21 and 22) is unclear and should be stricken.
SOURCE : Senator Hancock
SUPPORT : Californians Against Waste
OPPOSITION : International Sleep Products Association