To the Editor:

Every year, New Yorkers throw away hundreds of thousands of mattresses — bulky, hard-to-dispose-of items that occupy limited landfill space. There’s a smarter, proven way forward. But unless lawmakers make critical changes to S.1463/ A.1209, New York could miss the mark on passing a mattress-recycling law that actually works.

As the organization behind the Mattress Recycling Council, we know what works. Over the past decade, we’ve successfully implemented statewide mattress recycling programs in California, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and most recently, Oregon.

These efforts have recycled more than 15 million mattresses and diverted over 575 million pounds of steel, foam, fiber, and wood from the waste stream — saving municipalities money and protecting the environment.

We strongly support mattress recycling, but S.1463/ A.1209 as currently written gets the funding model wrong — and that matters for consumers, businesses, and the success of the program itself.

Here’s the issue: The bill prohibits a recycling fee at retail, requiring manufacturers to absorb all program costs while declaring the program “free to consumers.” But there’s no such thing as free recycling.

These costs will inevitably be passed on to consumers through higher product prices with no transparency, no oversight, and no accountability. And the manufacturers will not have the benefit of New York sales data from the fees paid through the retail sales to properly apportion the program costs among themselves.

“Free” may sound good in theory, but in practice, it’s unsustainable, opaque, and unfair — especially to New York consumers and in-state businesses.

There’s a better path — one that’s already working in four other states. Instead of burying costs in the price of a mattress, these programs fund recycling through a clearly stated, state-approved recycling fee collected at the point of sale.

This simple model ensures transparency and awareness for consumers, allows regulatory oversight by the Department of Environmental Conservation, and ensures a level playing field across all sellers — including online retailers and foreign manufacturers, which now make up a growing share of the U.S. market.

Currently, there is not an ample enforcement mechanism in S.1463/ A.1209 that will allow the DEC to ensure all mattress producers pay their fair share. Without enforcement, this program will be difficult and more expensive to operate.

Why should New Yorkers care? Because this bill, in its current form, puts affordability and accountability at risk. It implements a hidden cost structure that could drive up prices with no public scrutiny.

It also opens the door for free riders — companies that don’t contribute to the program but benefit from its existence. That undermines the integrity and financial sustainability of the effort and disadvantages New York businesses and consumers, something the Mattress Recycling Council is likely not going to volunteer to do.

Point-of-sale fees aren’t new. New York already uses this model for PaintCare, a recycling program that has successfully handled leftover paint for years. It’s fair, tested, and trusted — and it works.

The modest fee, in relation to what consumers now pay to dispose of mattresses in most parts of the state, not only pays for those mattresses when they come back into the system, it covers all legacy mattresses already in use. It is just a simple, fair way to apportion the costs of the program to units sold in the state.

Another concern: New York borders Connecticut and Rhode Island, where the Mattress Recycling Council already operates. A misaligned system would create reporting complications, cross-border inconsistencies, and unnecessary administrative burden, which will also increase the cost of this one-off program.

Instead of working together as a region, New York’s bill could isolate the state, cost consumers more money, and not result in the efficient and successful program seen in other states.

We want mattress recycling to work for New York. We want to build a program that meets the state's unique challenges and serves its diverse communities, while harmonizing it with the current programs already in place.

But that starts with smart legislation grounded in experience, accountability, and transparency, which S.1463/ A.1209 lacks.

Let’s fix the financing mechanism in this bill and give New Yorkers a program that delivers environmental results and protects their wallets.

As New York considers becoming the fifth state to enact mattress recycling, let’s ensure the program is designed well for both New York consumers and businesses alike.

Alison Keane

President

International Sleep Products Association and Mattress Recycling Council

Alexandria, Virginia

Editor’s note: The International Sleep Products Association, a trade association founded in 1915, established the not-for-profit Mattress Recycling Council in 2024 to operate recycling programs in states that have passed mattress recycling laws.