WSRA WRED 3/24/16 Mattress Recycling Alex Erzen, LinkUp Mattress Project Manager
Puget Sound • Sp Spri ring ng Back ck / NW Furniture Bank in Tacoma • Arl rlin ingt gton on Rec ecycle cle War arehouse ehouse in Snohomish Co. • Up Uptekk ekk in Auburn/Pacific • CDL L Rec ecycle cle / DRS in Seattle, Woodinville, Renton
Out of business • Corr rrec ection ional al Industr ndustries ies - WA Dept. of Corrections – 3 sites: 2014 • R5 Sy System ems, s, Inc nc. in Tukwila: 2014 • A A Plu lus Removal & Recycling in Auburn: 2015
Producer Responsibility programs “ Bye Bye Mattress” / Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) statewide stewardship programs in • Conn nnecticut ecticut (May 2015) $9 each • Cali lifornia ornia (Dec. 2015) $10 • Rhode de Island land (July 2016) $11 Eco-Mobilier (eco-furniture) nationwide program in Fra ranc nce (2013) ~$3-6 each
Connecticut’s law • 2010 $45 disposal fee on each • 2010-11: PSI dialog with gov & industry • 2012 stewardship bill fails (in RI & CA too) • 2013 laws pass (CT in May, RI in July, & CA in Sept.) • May 2015 MRC / Bye Bye Mattress start
California’s law • Illegal dumping task force • Failed 2012, passed 2013, Bye Bye / MRC start Dec. 2015 • Supported by – CA Chamber of Commerce – California Retail Association – Republic, Waste Management, Recology – Recycling orgs & cities and counties
Metro Vancouver, BC: ban and recycle 1/1/11 • 125,000 processed Year 1 (3 for-profit processors) • saved 100,000 cubic meters (2-3 mo worth) of landfill space • Or ~74,000 metric tons or 7% of MetroVan’s 2011 garbage
National • March 2012: ISPA (mattress industry trade association) intends to seek national mattress recycling legislation • Resolution supporting EPR for mattresses from US Conference of Mayors, June 2012 – 7 WA Mayors: Auburn, Everett, Mukilteo, Redmond, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma
King County LinkUp Facilitate development of • collection lection and d pro roces cessing sing infras frastruc tructu ture re that supplies • end d mark rkets ts for recyclable materials: mattresses, textiles, carpet, asphalt shingles, compost
King County LinkUp • Mattress Recycling Summits 2011 & 2014 • 2012 Take it Back Network • 2015 Request for Information (RFI)
Li Link nkUp Up Mat attress tress Rec ecycl cling ing Su Summit mmit 2011 • “Mattress recycling is more expensive than disposal. Until there is a higher mattress disposal fee at transfer stations, mattresses will continue to be taken there.” • “Mattress recycling needs to be more accessible, convenient and affordable: if people can’t get it to a recycler, they will look to dump it .”
Li Link nkUp Mat attre ress ss Rec ecycling cling Su Summi mmit t 2011 • “My customers wouldn’t have a problem paying a small fee, 90% want their mattress to be recycled or reused by someone who needs it; customers are asking about where mattresses go…” • “Why are states hesitant to legislate this issue and ban mattress disposal? The ban was an incentive to get our act together in BC. We had to learn fast and now it’s a system that works. The ban increased recyclers [from 1 to 3] in the area.”
Lin inkUp Up Ma Mattre ress ss Rec ecycli cling ng Su Summit it 2014 14 • “Transfer stations must increase the disposal fee for mattresses .” • “Government must take action .” • “If we [retailers] want to see something happen in this state, we need to get together and ask if we’re okay with a fee going on every mattress we sell. Or are we okay with a disposal ban?”
Public transfer stations • City of Tacoma landfill since 2014 – with Spring Back • Pilot : Seattle Public Utilities south transfer station since late 2015 • Pilot : King County Bow Lake transfer station upcoming in 2016
Mattresses • 3000 tons disposed = ~100 – 150,000 mattresses / year • 9 lbs cotton • 25 lbs steel
Spring Back Tacoma
Republic Black River Renton
Upcoming • Canada 2017 target – EPR for furniture, textiles, carpet • UPSTREAM furniture EPR project – model policy development – Chemical manufacturers of flame retardant treated foam and furniture manufacturers
Alex Erzen alex.erzen@kingcounty.gov (206) 477-5273 KingCounty.gov/LinkUp King Street Center 201 South Jackson Street, Suite 701 Seattle, WA 98104 www.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste
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