Committee considers statewide mattress stewardship bill to expand recycling and shift costs from local governments

The House Environment and Transportation Committee heard testimony on House Bill 858, a sponsored bill to establish a statewide mattress stewardship program that would require producers to fund collection and recycling under a plan approved by the state.

What the bill would do: Proponents described HB 858 as an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program modeled on laws in California, Connecticut, Rhode Island and newly in Oregon. Under the bill manufacturers would fund a nonprofit producer organization to administer statewide collection, transportation and recycling. The program would set a transparent fee structure, convenience standards, and reporting requirements and would be implemented through a publicly available program plan.

Supporters and data presented: Testimony came from a wide group — the sponsor and multiple recycling and industry witnesses. Witnesses cited municipal experiences: since January 2022, five jurisdictions spent over $1 million combined and diverted more than 4,200,000 pounds of mattresses and box springs. Turbohall Mattress Recycling reported it has recycled over 300,000 units (about 15,000,000 pounds) and has expanded capacity in Baltimore; the Mattress Recycling Council estimates each recycled mattress saves roughly 500 gallons of water and cuts greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to driving fewer miles.

Questions and recommended changes: Industry and some stakeholders urged technical changes. The International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) recommended clarifying antitrust language, removing provisions that phase out assessments tied to profitability, and dropping reporting items (like closed‑loop recycling percentages) that the producer organization cannot reliably control. The Product Stewardship Institute urged inclusion of mattresses that are collected for disposal (wet/contaminated units) and suggested tiered fees by mattress type and size so lower-cost-to-recycle units pay less. Sponsor representatives said they are working with a stakeholder group of about 20 organizations and expect additional amendments.

Rationale and local impacts: Advocates said mattress recycling is labor- and capital-intensive, and current local programs struggle to cover costs; shifting financing to a producer-funded model would relieve local governments, expand access in rural areas and support local recycling businesses and jobs. Some county officials and the Maryland Association of Counties asked for assurance the bill would not unduly burden local programs and sought language protecting county flexibility.

Next steps: Stakeholders asked the committee to consider amendments to improve program viability. No formal vote was recorded in the hearing transcript.