In 2022, Oregon became the fourth U.S. state to enact a law establishing a statewide mattress recycling program.
Senate Bill 1576 (2022) requires mattress manufacturers to help establish an extended producer responsibility, or EPR, program that will make it easy for consumers to recycle their unwanted mattresses. The law aims to increase mattress recycling, establish new convenient locations in every county for residents to drop off their mattresses, reduce illegal dumping, and create recycling-sector jobs. The program will be funded by a small assessment collected at retail sales of mattresses. Adding mattresses to the products covered by Oregon's EPR programs will provide a much-needed service in both urban and rural communities throughout the state.
How the program will work
Mattress manufacturers will designate a stewardship organization to implement the program. A designated stewardship organization must submit a plan for developing and implementing a stewardship program to DEQ by Oct. 1, 2023. DEQ will provide administrative oversight of program implementation, including reviewing and approving a program plan and ensuring that a stewardship organization operates the program in accordance with an approved plan.
View the fact sheet:
DEQ's Mattress Stewardship Program
After a program is implemented for Oregon, people will have access to convenient drop off locations in their area for mattress disposal, similar to other product stewardship programs in the state. The stewardship organization(s) will establish an assessment that people will pay when purchasing a program mattress, both online and in-store. The amount will be based directly on the cost to run the program, including environmentally sound management and disposal. Mattresses collected will be processed for renovation, reuse or recycling, as appropriate.
This new law requires mattress producers to share responsibility for developing and implementing a statewide system for collection of management of discarded mattresses. It also creates requirements for reducing Illegal dumping and establishing recycling goals. This collection program will likely begin in 2024.
Mattress producers, retailers and renovators will need to register with a stewardship organization that has a plan approved by DEQ. Only registered entities may sell or offer for sale any mattress in the state of Oregon.
Retailers may only purchase mattresses from a producer or renovator that is registered with a stewardship organization. Retailers are required to collect, at the point of sale, a mattress stewardship assessment and must identify it as a separate line item on the consumer’s receipt. They must also provide to consumers, at the point of retail sale, information on the collection opportunities available through the program, as provided by the stewardship organization(s).
Stewardship organizations must have a plan approved by DEQ in order to operate a mattress program in Oregon. Plans are due to DEQ on October 1, 2023. Before this time, DEQ will post a plan guide to this website, which is meant to be a suggestion for what an approvable plan looks like. This guidance will be pulling directly from statute and (after adoption) administrative rules. This guide is available for any prospective stewardship organization to use. DEQ will also be appointing a mattress stewardship program advisory committee (MSPAC) as required by statute. If you are interested in participating as a stewardship organization, please contact Rachel Harding, Program Coordinator, Rachel.Harding@deq.oregon.gov.
