ISPA helps defeat Rhode Island mattress disposal law

Could have been costly for manufacturers, retailers

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, July 12, 2011

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Thanks to opposition from the International Sleep Products Assn. and other manufacturing groups, the Rhode Island General Assembly adjourned last week without passing a bill that would have required mattress manufacturers and retailers to participate in an "extended producer responsibility" program.

Such programs make manufacturers responsible for funding and operating a system for collecting and disposing of consumer products at the end of their useful lives.

The Rhode Island legislation that died last week would have required the mattress industry to develop such a program specifically for discarded mattresses, ISPA said.

"This is a significant victory for our industry," said ISPA President Ryan Trainer. "ISPA supports efforts to promote the proper disposal of used mattresses, but the Rhode Island legislation would have set a bad precedent. ISPA believes that used mattress recycling efforts must develop and evolve on their own without the interference of costly and impractical state mandates."

ISPA provided testimony opposing the bill and met with legislators and agency staff to educate them on the economic harm that legislation like this would have caused mattress manufacturers and retailers. ISPA also enlisted the assistance of its members, mattress retailers and other industries that manufacture consumer products that have been targeted by similar proposals in other states.