Dive Brief:

• California Governor Jerry Brown made California the third state in the nation to mandate mattress recycling by signing S.B. 254 into a law.
• The law puts the burden on mattress manufacturers to create and manage a mattress recycling program that would provide recycling to municipalities, financing the program via an "eco fee" to be collected from consumers when they purchase a new mattress and box springs at the retail level.
• ​The new law also serves to reduce illegal dumping and reduce cleanup costs to local municipalities while transforming discarded mattresses into new products.

Dive Insight:

This is an important move and may push other states to adopt similar legislation. Both Connecticut and Rhode Island passed similar laws this year.