BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1118|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1118
Author: Hancock (D)
Amended: 5/29/12
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-1, 4/23/12
AYES: Simitian, Hancock, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Pavley
NOES: Strickland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blakeslee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/24/12
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Dutton
SUBJECT : Solid waste: used mattresses
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill (1) requires manufacturers of
mattresses, on and after July 1, 2013, to establish and
implement a program to collect and recycle used mattresses
from consumers, as specified, (2) requires a retailer, on
and after July 1, 2013, in coordination with a
manufacturer, to provide or arrange for the pickup of a
used mattress from a consumer purchasing a new mattress,
(3) authorizes the manufacturer, in lieu of establishing
the program, to remit, on a voluntarily basis, to the
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle)
a payment for each mattress sold in the state, (4) requires
the moneys remitted to be deposited in the Mattress
CONTINUED
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Recovery and Recycling Account, which this bill will
establish in the Integrated Waste Management Fund, (5)
requires CalRecycle to establish the mattress recovery and
recycling payment at an amount that is sufficient for, but
does not exceed, CalRecycle's costs of implementing the
recovery and recycling program, (6) requires monies in the
account, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be
expended by CalRecycle to implement a program to facilitate
the recovery and recycling of used mattresses.
ANALYSIS : This bill enacts the Used Mattress Law, under
the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989,
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.
4. Authorizes a mattress manufacturer, in lieu of
establishing and implementing the above programs, to
voluntarily remit a mattress recovery and recycling
payment to CalRecycle for each mattress sold by the
manufacturer in the state. Requires CalRecycle to
establish the mattress recovery and recycling payment at
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an amount that is sufficient for, but does not exceed,
CalRecycle's costs of implementing the recovery and
recycling program. Monies collected must be deposited
into a Mattress Recovery and Recycling Account, to be
established in the Integrated Waste Management Fund, and
expended by CalRecycle 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").
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/29/12)
Californians Against Waste
City of Oakland
City of Richmond
Environment California
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/29/12)
American Cleaning Institute
California Chamber of Commerce
California Independent Oil Marketers Association
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
California Taxpayers Association
Consumer Specialty Products Association
Grocery Manufacturers Association
International Sleep Products Association
Los Angeles City, Integrated Waste Management Committee
National Federation of Independent Business
Solid Waste Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
This bill 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."
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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."
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 develop and implement a program to
recover and recycle mattresses.
Californians Against Waste (CAW) supports this bill and
writes, "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."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The International Sleep
Products Association (ISPA) opposes this bill and writes,
"The Extended Producer Responsibility system 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
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would have to pass these costs on to new buyers through
higher prices under the guise of environmental law."
The opposition states, "Mattresses are already collected in
a responsible manner. Most retailers offer a collection
service when a new mattress is purchased. Retailers then
dispose of these mattresses through the proper channels and
established mattress recycling centers. SB 1118 would
disrupt this process. In fact, California has 8 of the
approximately 30 mattress recycling facilities currently
operating in the United States. However, SB 1118 requires
manufacturers to establish and implement a new program to
pick up and recycle used mattresses. Further, it would
require manufacturers and retailers to pick up abandoned
mattresses at the request of any public agency in the
state. It is unclear how this very costly new requirement
would actually work. It appears to be 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 an environmental law. Finally,
the mattress industry was hit hard by the recession. Sales
dropped by over 20%, bankrupting large and small
manufacturers and retailers in California and across the
country. Now is not the time to impose substantial new
costs on vulnerable businesses or impede their ability to
sell new products. Higher costs will jeopardize businesses
and jobs. Historically, the vast majority of mattresses
sold in the United States are made here. California still
has multiple manufacturing facilities in the state. But
laws like SB 1118 will be a step backward for the industry
by significantly increasing costs, reducing demand for new
product and killing jobs."
DLW:do 5/29/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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