ISPA Opposed Mattress Recycling Bills Introduced in New York
Last June, ISPA, through the strong support of its membership, defeated flawed mattress recycling legislation in New York. Unfortunately, this legislation has been reintroduced in the Empire State.
NY S 1463 and NY A 1209 would establish a mattress recycling program in New York, however, both the Senate and Assembly not only lack an important provision enabling retailers to collect a small point-of-sale fee to fund the program, but they would also impose the costs of the program solely on manufacturers. ISPA supports funding mattress recycling programs through point-of-sale fees because it is the most efficient, transparent, and equitable way to fund statewide mattress recycling programs. The bill also bans advanced recycling technologies and mandates an impracticable and costly collection convivence criteria. Simply put, this legislation would introduce an excessive regulatory burden on the mattress industry as it is both infeasible and inconsistent with existing state mattress recycling programs.
California, Connecticut, Oregon, and Rhode Island fund their mattress recycling programs through consumer fees. All existing MRC programs follow well-crafted program plans which are approved by the state to establish viable collection, transportation and recycling infrastructure. MRC programs have been successful, recycling over 15 million mattresses and box springs since they began. ISPA strongly opposes legislation that does not follow this consistent, sound approach.
The New York State Legislature will focus on passing the state budget until the spring. After the budget is passed, both mattress recycling bills will be heard in their respective Environmental Conservation Committees.
This flawed legislation is a threat to the mattress industry and ISPA needs your help to defeat it. ISPA keep you apprised of our next steps to defeat this legislation in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, if your company has a presence in New York State (whether it be a manufacturing plant, headquarters, etc.), please reach out to ISPA’s Government Affairs Team (Alison Keane, Grant Johnson, and Marty Salamone). As in 2024, ISPA member participation will be key in ensuring this flawed legislation is defeated.