Bill H.4810

FILED ON: 6/28/2024

HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4810

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act to establish a mattress recycling program in the Commonwealth.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 21H of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 8 the following sections:-

Section 9. As used in sections 9-16, inclusive, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

“Brand”, a name, symbol, word or mark that attributes a mattress to the producer of the mattress.

“Consumer”, a person who is the purchaser, by retail sale, of a mattress for final delivery and use.

“Department”, the department of environmental protection.

“Discarded mattress”, a mattress that has been used and abandoned or discarded in the commonwealth.

“Final disposition”, the point beyond which no further recycling, renovation, disposition, or other processing of a discarded mattress occurs.

“Foundation”, a ticking-covered structure that is used to support a mattress or sleep surface and that may be constructed of frames, foam, box springs or other materials, used alone or in combination.

“Mattress”, a foundation or a resilient material or combination of materials that is enclosed by a ticking, used alone or in combination with other products, and intended or promoted for sleeping upon; provided, however, that “mattress” shall not mean: (i) an unattached mattress pad or unattached mattress topper, with or without resilient filling or ticking, that is intended to be used with or on top of a mattress; (ii) a sleeping bag; (iii) a pillow; (iv) a car bed, crib mattress or bassinet mattress; (v) carriage, basket, dressing table, stroller, playpen, infant carrier, lounge pad, crib bumper or other product manufactured for young children or the pad for a product described in this subparagraph; (vi) a water bed, air mattress or other product that contains liquid- or gas-filled ticking and does not contain upholstery material between the ticking and the mattress core; or (vii) a foldout sofa bed, futon, futon mattress or upholstered furniture.

“Mattress core”, the principal support system that is present in a mattress and that may be constructed of materials such as springs, foam, air or water bladders or resilient filling.

“Mattress stewardship assessment”, the amount added at retail sale to the purchase price of a mattress to cover the costs of a mattress stewardship program.

“Mattress topper”, any item that contains resilient filling, with or without ticking, that is intended to be used with or on top of a mattress.

“Person”, a government entity or unit, public or private corporation, individual, partnership, association, firm, trust, estate or other legal entity.

“Premium service”, an additional or high-level offering related to mattress sales and disposition, including but not limited to at-home and curbside pickup services.

“Producer”, any person, irrespective of the selling technique used, including that of remote sale or online commerce, who: (i) manufactures a mattress that is sold, offered for sale or distributed in the commonwealth; (ii) owns a trademark or brand under which a mattress is sold, offered for sale or distributed in the commonwealth, whether or not such trademark or brand is registered in the commonwealth; or (iii) imports a mattress into the United States that is sold or offered for sale in the commonwealth.

“Recycle”, to recover materials or by-products for reuse, use as an ingredient or a feedstock in an industrial or manufacturing process to make a marketable product, or use in a particular function or application as an effective substitute for a commercial product or commodity; provided, however, that “recycle” does not mean to recover energy from the combustion of a material or to create a fuel; and provided further, that “recycle” does not include composting or conversion.

“Recyclers”, persons contracted with the stewardship organization to recycle mattresses.

“Renovate”, to alter a discarded mattress for resale through adding to or replacing the ticking or filling, adding additional filling or replacing components of the discarded mattress with new or recycled materials; provided, however, that “renovate” shall not mean stripping a discarded mattress of the ticking or filling without adding new material or sanitizing or sterilizing a discarded mattress without other alteration to the discarded mattress.

“Retailer”, a person that offers new, used or renovated mattresses for retail sale in the commonwealth.

“Retail sale”, sale in the commonwealth to a consumer by any means and for any purpose other than resale, including but not limited to sale by remote offerings such as sales outlets, catalogs or the internet.

“Stewardship organization”, a nonprofit organization designated by a producer or group of producers to implement a mattress stewardship program.

“Ticking”, the outermost layer of fabric or related material of a mattress; provided, however, that “ticking” shall not mean any layer of fabric or material quilted together with or otherwise attached to the outermost layer of fabric or material of a mattress.

Section 10. (a) Not later than July 1, 2025, the department shall establish criteria for mattress stewardship programs, which shall be designed to collect discarded mattresses and dispose of such mattresses using environmentally sound management practices. The department shall determine the methods by which a stewardship organization may submit a mattress stewardship program plan. A program plan shall include but not be limited to: (i) a list of producers and retailers registered with the stewardship organization; (ii) the catchment area in the commonwealth in which the stewardship organization intends to operate; (iii) a description of discarded mattress collection efforts, provided that basic collection services exclusive of premium services shall be offered at no cost to consumers; (iv) a description of the environmentally sound management practices for discarded mattresses received by the stewardship organization; (v) performance standards for recyclers to contract with the stewardship organization; (vi) recycling methods to be used by recyclers; (vii) auditing, inspection and other procedures of the stewardship organization to ensure implementation of environmentally sound management practices; (viii) program performance goals for discarded mattress collections and recycling rates; (ix) a culturally competent and, as applicable, linguistically diverse education and outreach program about the mattress stewardship program; (x) a two-year operating budget for the mattress stewardship program; and (xi) a proposed mattress stewardship assessment amount.

(b) The department shall review and issue a determination on a mattress stewardship program plan no later than 180 days after submission. A program plan may be approved for up to 5 years. If a program plan is not approved, the department shall inform the stewardship organization in writing of the reasons for its determination, any necessary plan revisions, and instructions for resubmission of a revised program plan.

(c) A stewardship organization shall submit to the department a mattress stewardship program plan amendment not less than 60 days in advance of a planned substantial change to the program, and not less than 30 days after an unplanned substantial change to the program.

(d) Approved program plans may be submitted to the department to be reapproved for an additional five years as a subsequent program plan. Subsequent program plans shall be submitted not less than 12 months prior to the expiration of the then-current program plan and include proposed improvements based on performance metrics and achieved results of the existing mattress stewardship program, as applicable.

(e) The department may require one or more performance audits of mattress stewardship programs with approved plans.

(f) The department shall publish on its website all mattress stewardship programs with approved plans, including but not limited to the name of the responsible stewardship organization, the catchment area, a link to the website of the stewardship organization, and the program plan expiration date.

Section 11. (a) A stewardship organization shall implement a mattress stewardship program within 180 days of receiving program plan approval from the department. An implemented mattress stewardship program shall: (i) provide convenient consumer access to mattress collection sites and request and schedule premium services; (ii) maintain mattress collection sites at permitted solid waste facilities or other suitable locations for the collection of discarded mattresses; (iii) prioritize renovation or recycling over disposal in the final disposition of mattresses; and (iv) comply with other criteria established by the department.

(b) A stewardship organization with an approved mattress stewardship program plan shall make available on its website: (i) a complete and accurate list of all producers and retailers registered with the stewardship organization; (ii) the brands owned by all producers registered with the stewardship organization; (iii) available mattress collection opportunities, including any offered premium services; and (iv) other information relevant for retailers to comply with this chapter.

(c) A stewardship organization with an approved mattress stewardship program plan shall collect mattress stewardship assessments from affiliated retailers and use mattress stewardship assessments to pay costs associated with the planning, implementation, administration and operation of a mattress stewardship program and to establish a financial reserve to prepare for unexpected costs. A stewardship organization may not use mattress stewardship assessments to pay penalties assessed against the organization by the department.

(d) Annually not later than April 1 in each year of the duration of an approved mattress stewardship program, a stewardship organization shall pay a fee to the department in an amount established by the department.

(e) Annually not later than April 1 in each year of the duration of an approved mattress stewardship program, a stewardship organization shall submit to the department an annual report for the preceding calendar year that includes, without limitation: (i) costs, revenues, and an updated budget, as applicable; (ii) the quantity and tonnage of discarded mattresses collected through the program; (iii) the final dispositions of mattresses collected through the program, delineated by weight and material; (iv) a description of why mattress materials were not recycled and intended efforts to increase the recycling rate of mattress materials within the mattress stewardship program; (v) the total number of mattresses sold by producers and retailers registered with the stewardship organization; (vi) results of the audits of the stewardship organization’s contracted entities; and (vii) an evaluation of the mattress stewardship program effectiveness and possible methods of improvement.

(f) Nothing in this chapter shall prevent a stewardship organization from coordinating efforts to implement a mattress stewardship program with: (i) existing recycling programs in the commonwealth; (ii) municipalities in the commonwealth; or (iii) programs for the collection and environmentally sound management of discarded mattresses in other states, provided appropriate notice of such coordination is provided to the department.

Section 12. A producer or retailer shall not sell or offer for sale a mattress to a person unless the producer or retailer is registered with a stewardship organization with an approved mattress stewardship program plan; provided, however, that a retailer registered with a stewardship organization shall not violate this section if, at the time of purchase from a producer, the producer of a mattress was registered with a mattress stewardship program.

Section 13. At the point of retail sale of a mattress, a retailer shall: (a) identify the mattress stewardship assessment as a separate line item on the receipt for a mattress provided to a consumer; (b) collect the mattress stewardship assessment; and (c) provide to a consumer information on available collection opportunities for discarded mattresses through the mattress stewardship program. A retailer shall remit the mattress stewardship assessment to the stewardship organization.

Section 14. A producer, retailer, or stewardship organization that violates this chapter may be subject to fines, suspension or revocation of a mattress stewardship program plan, or other penalty as determined by the department.

Section 15. Annually not later than July 1, the department shall publish on its website and submit to the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on environment and natural resources, and the clerks of the house and senate a report on mattress stewardship programs in the commonwealth.

Section 16. The department shall promulgate regulations to implement sections 9-15 , inclusive, of this chapter.

SECTION 2. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Mattress Stewardship Fund. The fund shall consist of: (i) revenue from appropriations or other money authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) interest earned on such revenues; (iii) funds from public and private sources, including, but not limited to, gifts, grants, donations and settlements received by the commonwealth that are designated to be credited to the fund; (iv) federal funds paid to the commonwealth designated to be credited to the fund; and (v) monies paid to the commonwealth pursuant to paragraph (d) of section 10 of chapter 21H of the General Laws. All amounts credited to the fund may be expended by the department, without further appropriation, for the purpose of administering, implementing and enforcing sections 9 to 15, inclusive, of chapter 21H of the General Laws. Amounts credited to the fund that are unexpended at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund.

SECTION 3. Proposed sections 12 and 13 of chapter 21H, as set forth in section 1 of this act, shall take effect on January 1, 2027.

SECTION 4. Except as provided in section 3, the provisions of this act shall take effect upon its passage.