The Department of Energy & Environmental Protection has given its blessing to a statewide mattress recycling plan proposed by a Virginia nonprofit.
The plan, which kicks in May 1, adds a $9 recycling fee to each new or renovated mattress and box spring sold in the state. Retailers will remit the fees to the Mattress Recycling Council, which will use them to pay contractors to collect and recycle mattresses.
MRC is an industry group created under a 2013 state law that made Connecticut the first state to have a comprehensive mattress recycling program.
The group is responsible for meeting the industry’s recycling obligations.
Across the country, consumers discard 50,000 mattresses per day, according to MRC.
Connecticut’s recycling program will divert that waste from landfills to recycling plants that can extract the steel, cotton and other materials.
“Responsibly managing discarded mattresses benefits consumers and the environment, and it’s most effective when done on a large scale,” Ryan Trainer, MRC’s president, said in a statement.
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