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CalRecycle Approves Mattress Recycling Fee; Collection Begins Dec. 30

The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) approved the budget and recycling fee that the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) had proposed to fund its California Mattress Recycling Program (which will be known to consumers as Bye Bye Mattress). As a result of the approval, mattress retailers and other sellers must collect an $11 recycling fee on each mattress or box spring sold to California end-users. The fee will go into effect beginning December 30, 2015, and applies to all sales of new, used and renovated mattresses and box springs. For these purposes, a mattress and a box spring are each considered a separate unit, and the fee must be collected on each unit.

To comply with this new law, mattress producers, manufacturers, importers, retailers and others selling mattresses in or into California must register at www.MRCreporting.org. This secure portal also allows mattress sellers to submit monthly sales reports and remit collected recycling fees. Visit www.mattressrecyclingcouncil.org for the latest program developments or to sign up to receive announcements and notices.

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Massachusetts Examines Bill to Mandate Recycling

Last week, the Massachusetts legislature held a hearing on a number of recycling bills, including one to give the state blanket authority to select industries and products for mandated recycling programs. The proposal would allow the state to possibly target mattresses for such a program. The bill differs from existing industry-supported laws in California, Connecticut, and Rhode Island in that the state would require mattress manufacturers alone to fund the program, instead of funding it through a point-of-sale fee collected from consumers.

A representative from the Product Management Alliance (PMA) testified in opposition to the bill on behalf of ISPA and other industries. PMA is an industry group that ISPA and other trade associations formed to oppose legislation that would mandate producer-financed recycling legislation for mattresses and other products. ISPA and PMA will continue to oppose this legislation.

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CSIL Requests Your Participation in Mattress/Furniture Industry Trends Survey

CSIL Milano, a European market research firm, invites ISPA members to participate in a short survey about global trends in the mattress and furniture industries. As you might recall, ISPA’s annual Mattress Industry Report of Sales & Trends includes world mattress industry data provided to us by CSIL.

CSIL’s trends survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete, and your responses will be anonymous. In exchange for your participation, CSIL will share with us a synopsis of its survey findings. The deadline for participation is October 15th, so don’t hesitate – follow this link and fill out the survey today!

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Manufacturing Sector Flat, Jobs Market Disappointing, But Consumer Spending and Income Are Up

Two disappointing reports dominated business news last week, according to the Monday Economic Report published by the National Association of Manufacturers. First, new orders and employment growth were basically stagnant in September according to the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, which hit its lowest level since May 2013. At the same time, exports fell for the seventh time this year and the latest survey results from the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank reflect negative growth for nine straight months. Second, employment disappointed observes with nonfarm payrolls increasing in September by only 142,000 jobs (well below the consensus estimate of 200,000) and data for the prior two months were revised downward by 59,000 jobs. The manufacturing sector actually lost 9,000 jobs last month, on top of the 18,000 lost in August. The net effect of these weak reports is to decrease the likelihood that the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee will raise short-term rates when it next meets later this month, and increasing the chance that no increase will occur until mid-December at the earliest.

But the news is not all bleak. Personal spending rose 0.4% in August (for the 6th consecutive month, and up 3.5% year-over-year), personal income grew slightly and consumer confidence rebounded well in September. Still, year-over-year consumer spending was stronger during much of 2014, peaking in August 2014 at 5%.  Manufacturing construction spending also rose 1.5% in August, with much of it in the chemical sector, which is benefiting from lower oil prices.

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Did You Know?

Sleep Savvy magazine has a “Sleep” section online where you can find the articles that have appeared in the Snooze News section of the magazine in print, which covers all things sleep.

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View past issues of ISPA Insider.
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