PSI Sustaining Partners

April 11, 2011 1

As You Sow Giles W. and Elise G.

Mead FoundationHotz

Environmental

Thank You to Our Project Sponsors!

April 11, 2011 2

PSI Mattress Stewardship Initiative

PSI National Mattress Stewardship Meeting

Hartford, CTApril 11, 2011

• Background technical information

• Clarify issues and strategies

• Additional strategies

• Prioritize strategies

• Workgroups at end of day - top 2 strategies

Issue/Strategy Discussions

April 11, 2011 4

Managing used mattresses and box springs represents a significant cost to

local governments and institutions.

Speakers: →Peter Egan, Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority→Marilynn Cruz-Aponte, City of Hartford, CT→Nicole Poepping, Clean Water Action, RI

Issue # 1 – Lack of Sustainable Financing

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1) Develop and introduce legislation that includes an Advanced Recycling Fee (ARF).

2) Develop and introduce Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation.

Issue #1: Potential Strategies

April 11, 2011 6

• Separate charge placed on a new product and paid by a consumer at retail to cover the cost of the product’s eventual end-of-life management.

• Associated with government managed fund, and little or no manufacturer involvement.– State legislatures often seize ARF funds for other purposes.– Need for additional government staff to manage the fund collection,

grant distribution, contractor services, and other operational functions.• Associated with visible fees at retail.• State governments have placed a visible ARF on tires, motor oil,

lead acid batteries, electronics (CA only)

Advanced Recycling Fee (ARF)

April 11, 2011 7

• Cost Internalization -- Manufacturers internalize end-of-life management costs into the cost of doing business so that they are invisible to the consumer, even though the costs may be passed on to the consumer.

• Manufacturers have direct management ability to increase efficiency, improve service, and cut costs

• Laws in U.S. (electronics, thermostats, batteries, paint, fluorescent lamps, etc.)

• Most common voluntary industry programs in the U.S. – Call2Recycle (operated by the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp.)– Thermostat Recycling Corporation

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)

April 11, 2011 8

State Extended Producer Responsibility Laws

Lack of standardized definition of what constitutes mattress and box spring “recycling” and a lack of consumer awareness about recycling options.

Speaker: Sherill Baldwin, Connecticut Department of Environmental

Protection

Issue # 2 – Lack of Standardized Definitions

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1) Develop a standard definition for recycling that governments and all those in the mattress industry can agree on.

2) Develop a statewide or national education campaign.

Issue #2 – Potential Strategies

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Lack of data on how many mattresses are being recovered, and how many

of those are being recycled

Speakers:→ Stefanie Wnuck, Product Stewardship Institute→ Katie Dagon, Connecticut Department of Environmental

Protection

Issue #3 – Lack of Data

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• 40 million new mattresses and box springs are sold every year.

• Mattress disposal costs can range from $5 to $30 per mattress.

What Data Do We Have?

April 11, 2011 13

Only a small percentage of mattresses and box springs are recycled.

How many mattresses and box springs are…• Recycled each year?• Sold by renovators each year?• Disposed of by municipalities each year? Incinerated? Landfilled?• Disposed of by institutions each year?• Donated to charities each year?

Without the data it is difficult promote mattress recycling!

What Data are Missing?

April 11, 2011 14

• Difficult to Track What Happens to Discarded Mattresses

• Mattresses that are no longer needed are discarded by consumers in several ways:1) Given away to someone 2) Taken away by retailer upon delivery of a new unit3) Put out on the curb for municipal pick-up4) Taken to transfer station or landfill5) Dumped illegally

Why are Data Missing?

April 11, 2011 15

In-Home Replacement• Retailers manage used mattresses taken away upon delivery in

several ways:1) Provide them to private entities that pick them up (either for a

cost or for free)2) Hire a contractor to haul them away3) Donate them to charities for reuse4) Dispose of them in a landfill or incinerator

• According to ISPA, about 50% of the time when a new mattress is delivered by a retailer a used mattress is taken away.

What happens to all of these used mattresses?

What is the Retailer Role in Managing Used Mattresses?

April 11, 2011 16

What are the data gaps?

What level priority is it to fill those data gaps?

How do we obtain the missing data?

Issue #3 – Questions to Consider

April 11, 2011 17

1) Create a database for local governments and institutions to track the management of mattresses.

2) Require retailers to report on their methods of discarding mattresses.

Issue #3 – Potential Strategies

April 11, 2011 18

Lack of recognized standards that prevent fraudulent refurbishment operations and

prevent bed bug contamination, and a lack of consumer education about risks associated

with unsafe refurbishment.

Speakers:→ Dr. Gale Ridge, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station→ Joan Jordan, Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection

Issue #4 – Lack of Refurbishment Standards

April 11, 2011 19

1) Develop nationally recognized standards for mattress refurbishment (e.g., Code of Conduct).

2) Require that all refurbished mattresses must be sterilized to prevent the spread of bed bugs.

3) Ensure effective enforcement.4) Require retailers to provide information to

consumers upon purchase of a refurbished mattress.

Issue #4 – Potential Strategies

April 11, 2011 20

• What 2 top strategies should we focus on for workgroups prior to stakeholder conference calls?

• Which stakeholders are missing?

Next Steps

April 11, 2011 21