First US state imposes fee to cover mattress recycling

United States – Connecticut is the first US state to adopt mattress recycling legislation. The state’s House of Representatives has voted to require customers to pay an extra US $8-12 at the time of purchase to cover end-of-life recycling.

The bill will promote recycling, help companies that undertake the recycling to expand, and prevent mattresses from being trucked for landfill in neighbouring states, legislators argue. In Connecticut alone, more than 350,000 mattresses are discarded every year, resulting in disposal costs of more than $1.3 million.

Politicians in Connecticut have been working on the bill in collaboration with the mattress-producing industry for two years. According to Connecticut Democrat representive Patricia Widlitz, it will act as a model for the whole country.

‘Bills are starting to pop up all over the USA. Not only is it a good recycling bill, it will save our municipalities a significant amount of money,’ she said. In California, the state legislature is debating a recycling fee for mattresses, though the bill has not yet passed into law there.

However, Republicans in the Connecticut House of Representatives have raised questions about how the bill will affect institutions that purchase lots of mattresses, such as hospitals, nursing homes, universities and prisons.

Source: www.hartfordcourant.com