By: Eric Slagle
Recycling in
California has come a long way from hand-me-down clothes from our cousins or
putting water bottles into the green bin. Californians now embrace the concept
of recycling as it has become a way of life across our entire state.
Industries across
every sector of the economy from beverage cans to construction debris have
refined their processes and infrastructure to reduce waste and increase
recycling wherever possible. Californians consumers, business leaders and
elected officials alike are proud of their efforts to make our world more
sustainable through recycling. But we can do more.
I have been in the
business of making quality mattress for more than 25 years in Bakersfield. We
are a family owned and operated business with deep ties to our community. And
that is why we understand we must also be engaged in the process of what
happens to our mattresses once they have served their intended purpose. At the
end of their life cycle, millions of used mattresses are discarded each year
across the United States, ending up in landfills where they can take up 23
cubic feet of space each. Mattresses both place a tremendous strain on our
landfills and contribute to community blight when they are illegally dumped in our
neighborhoods or along our highways.
Which is why
Bakersfield residents should support SB 254, authored by Loni Hancock,
D-Oakland, and Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana. SB 254 strikes a balance that
incentivizes Californians to recycle used mattresses, eases the burden on our
landfills and communities, and creates new jobs and business opportunities
without harming valuable California employers already in business in the state.
In fact, in Kern
County (and its 11 cities) we are fortunate to have a Recycling Market
Development Zone. This is a state designation by CalRecycle to foster end use
markets for recyclable materials. SB 254 and our RMDZ program will complement
each other by improving the value of used mattress materials, which will make
mattress recycling more efficient. Some of the specifics of SB 254 include
making used mattress recycling safer and better. It creates a nonprofit
mattress recycling organization whose duty will be to plan, implement and
administer a state system to collect discarded used mattresses, dismantle them
and recycle their materials for use in new products. The organization will fund
the system by collecting a nominal fee at retail on the sale of new mattresses
and box springs. Many states follow a similar approach for recycling other
consumer products, including tires, batteries, motor oil, electronics, paint
and carpet.
Another critical
component of SB 254 is that it will address the problem of illegal mattress
dumping. SB 254 creates a financial incentive to encourage parties (including
retailers that pick up used mattresses from consumers, municipal transfer
stations, and groups that pick up illegally dumped mattresses) to send used
mattresses to mattress recyclers. The organization's activities will be
transparent, open to public input and subject to annual performance and
financial audits that will be published on its website. Further, the state's
oversight authority will confirm whether the organization has met its statutory
obligations.
Sponsored by the
International Sleep Products Association and Californians Against Waste, SB 254
enjoys a broad range of support from groups such as retailers, cities and
counties, local elected officials and waste management organizations.
The need for SB 254
is strengthened by a 2012 case study by University of California at Santa
Barbara researchers that found that 4.6 million mattresses and box springs are
sold annually in California and 4.2 million mattresses/box springs reach the
end of their life span annually. The study showed that 85 percent of the units
can be recycled and an estimated 1,000 jobs can be generated annually in
mattress recycling.
The Assembly's
Committee on Natural Resources will hold a hearing on the bill on Aug. 12. I
have confidence in the authors and sponsors of SB 254 that they will continue
to work on SB 254 and put into place a program with a solid foundation that is
realistic and achievable. SB 254 is not only about good environmental policy.
It's also about good business.
Eric Slagle of Bakersfield is president of Slagle's Mattress Factory Inc.
