Alexandria, Virginia - A mandatory recycling bill that would have added millions of dollars in costs for mattress manufacturers selling in California has been defeated.
The bill would have required mattress manufacturers to fund the cost of collecting used mattresses from consumers, dismantling them and recycling their components, said ISPA, the International Sleep Products Association, in a press statement.
It would also have required the industry to prevent consumers from illegally dumping their used mattresses. California is the third state this year to have considered - but failed to enact - a used mattress recycling law, ISPA notes.
ISPA president, Ryan Trainer said the association has supported mattress recycling for over 40 years. But Trainer stressed that "the approach proposed in California would have been bad for consumers, retailers and manufacturers. Instead, we believe that a national system for mattress recycling, rather than an inefficient piecemeal, state-based system, is best for this industry."
Trainer added that the "unified voice that California legislators heard from the mattress manufacturing and retail industries demonstrates that this legislation was short-sighted and that a comprehensive national solution is needed."
ISPA says a national programme would take advantage of economies of scale to make mattress recycling efficient and cost-effective. ISPA will continue to push for federal legislation for a mattress recycling solution that suits both consumers and industry.
An estimated 20 million used mattresses are discarded annually in the US.
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