Ryan Trainer
ISPA and MRC president
A message from Ryan Trainer, ISPA president
Nearly two years ago, Connecticut enacted the nation’s first mattress-recycling law. That law resulted from the International Sleep Products Association’s effort to negotiate a compromise that addressed the state’s concerns about mattress disposal without unduly burdening our industry.
To implement this law, and two others enacted later that year, ISPA formed the Mattress Recycling Council to create a program that will increase used mattress recycling, protect the industry from excessive costs and provide an efficient, private-sector solution to a long-term problem. Now, as these efforts bear fruit in Connecticut on May 1, 2015, I want to reflect on the significance of this event, which has been 20 years or more in the making.
ISPA has grappled with mattress recycling since at least the 1990s, when the industry considered how major components like steel and foam could be processed to make new products. Building on these efforts, ISPA considered how to create a national solution to mattress recycling. As individual states, however, became increasingly serious in passing laws that would impose costly and impractical burdens on mattress manufacturers, it became clear that the industry’s interests would be best served if ISPA were to lobby for pragmatic legislative alternatives.
ISPA fought hard for an approach that would allow an industry-led, nonprofit organization to develop and run a recycling program that would reduce costs, create a fair and efficient funding mechanism, and make each state’s rules as consistent as possible. The initial result of these efforts debuted May 1 in Connecticut, with the California and Rhode Island programs expected to launch in 2016.
Through MRC, the industry has taken a significant step toward addressing a persistent industry problem and protecting the environment. An important day like this would not have been possible without the support, creativity, hard work and guidance of a generation of ISPA’s members, the ISPA Board of Trustees and, most recently, the MRC Board of Directors. I hope you will join me in thanking the following members of the MRC board for their role in inaugurating this important industry effort:
■ Richard Diamonstein-—Paramount Sleep (MRC Chair)
■ Dale Carlsen—Mattress Firm
■ Doug Guffey—Corsicana Bedding Inc.
■ Terry Johnson—Tempur Sealy International
■ Matt Kershner—Select Comfort Corp.
■ Mark Kolovson—King Koil Northeast
■ Kristen McGuffey—Serta Simmons Bedding
Hearing held on bill to amend Rhode Island recycling law
ISPA-supported legislation has been introduced in Rhode Island to tweak the state’s 2013 mattress-recycling law. ISPA is seeking amendments to Rhode Island’s recycling law to make it consistent with 2014 changes to Connecticut’s mattress-recycling law. The House Environment and Natural Resources Committee heard the legislation in late March. ISPA spoke in favor of the bill and was joined by several retailers in supporting it.
California proposes changes to mattress-recycling law regulations
The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery has released an updated version of proposed regulations to implement California’s mattress-recycling law. The new changes to the regulations are in response to comments received during the initial public comment period. International Sleep Products Association has been working with CalRecycle to make sure the proposed rules reflect the requirements of the mattress-recycling law and don’t add additional burdens on the industry. ISPA commented on the most recent proposal and participated in a public workshop at CalRecycle in Sacramento, California.
