Subcommittee advances mattress‑recycling stewardship bill to reduce landfill waste

Delegate Delia Laufer urged the Natural Resources Subcommittee to support HB 86, telling members the bill would establish a statewide collection system certified by the Department of Environmental Quality and run by a mattress recycling organization. "HB 86 is about extending the life of our landfills," Laufer said, citing national and state diversion examples.

Supporters from industry and environmental groups described models used elsewhere and the bill’s oversight provisions. Allison Keane, president of the International Sleep Products Association and the Mattress Recycling Council, said the program would use a nominal retail fee to contract for collection, transportation and recycling and would include annual reporting to DEQ. "It's important to note in the bill that there's key oversight by the department," Keane said.

Environment Virginia and conservation groups echoed that a front‑end fee reduces illegal dumping and improves convenience for residents, and several waste‑management firms said they had worked with the patron. In committee questions, Laufer said the typical fee would range between $15 and $22 at point of sale — roughly "a dollar a year or $2 a year" over a mattress's expected lifespan — and described expected collection sites and retailer pickup to divert material from roadside disposal.

After brief questions and an agreed set of amendments, Delegate Dahlia Glass moved to report the bill as amended; the motion was seconded and the clerk recorded a roll call recommending the bill be reported as amended by a vote of 9 to 1.

The bill now moves to the next House stage with the subcommittee’s recommendation to report it as amended.