Proposed Plan is Impractical and Unfair
By contrast, Governor Cuomo’s budget proposes that mattress manufacturers directly fund the recycling program. This unproven course of action is not only impractical but unfair both to consumers and manufacturers. New Yorkers would likely have to pay increased administrative expenses while U.S. manufacturers would also bear a disproportionate share of the costs. Imports currently make up nearly 25 percent of the U.S. mattress market and the import share is rising.
While this freedom of choice means New Yorkers have the option to purchase a mattress from hundreds of different manufacturers based around the world, it makes it difficult if not impossible to track which companies have sold how many mattresses in the state. Increasing numbers of mattresses are also sold online by third parties and delivered directly to consumers via UPS, FedEx, etc. As a result, allocating New York’s mattress recycling costs accurately over the hundreds of different manufacturers offering mattresses for sale will be a burdensome, costly and likely controversial accounting process that will further increase the cost of mattresses for New York consumers.
Instead, New York should adopt a much simpler and more equitable system that this state embraced just last year and is used in other states. This system fairly distributes the cost across all mattresses sold in the state through a fee collected at the time of purchase. Why should New York consumers be required to bear the cost of a New York-only system when other more efficient approaches have proven successful?
