On or before July 1, 2015, the mattress recycling organization shall develop and submit to the department a plan for recycling used mattresses in the state in an economically efficient and practical manner that includes all of the following goals and elements:

(a) Program objectives consistent with the state’s solid waste management hierarchy.

(b) The names of manufacturers, renovators, distributors, and brands covered under the plan.

(c) A consultation process with affected stakeholders, including, but not limited to, local government representatives, recyclers, and solid waste industry representatives.

(d) Methods to increase the number of used mattresses diverted from landfills, reduce the number of illegally dumped used mattresses, and increase the quantity of used materials recovered through this process and recycled for other uses.

(e) (1) The establishment and administration of a means for funding the plan in a manner that distributes the mattress recycling organization’s costs uniformly over all mattresses sold in the state.

(2) The funding mechanism shall provide sufficient funding for the mattress recycling organization to carry out the plan, including the administrative, operational, and capital costs of the plan.

(f) The publishing of an annual report for each calendar year of operation.

(g) Conducting research, as needed, related to improving used mattress collection, dismantling, and recycling operations, including pilot programs to test new processes, methods, or equipment on a local, regional, or otherwise limited basis.

(h) A program performance measurement that shall collect program data for the purpose of the annual report. The information shall include both of the following:

(1) A methodology for estimating the amount of mattresses sold in the state and used mattresses available for collection in the state, and for quantifying the number of used mattresses collected and recycled in the state.

(2) A methodology for determining mattresses sold in the state by the manufacturers and renovators of the mattress recycling organization.

(i) A description of methods used to coordinate activities with existing used mattress collecting and recycling programs, including existing nonprofit mattress recyclers, and with other relevant parties as appropriate, with regard to the proper management or recycling of discarded or abandoned mattresses, for purposes of providing the efficient delivery of services and avoiding unnecessary duplication of effort and expense.

(j) Entering into contracts or agreements, which may include contracts and agreements with existing nonprofit or for-profit recyclers, that are necessary and proper for the mattress recycling organization to carry out these duties consistent with the terms of this chapter.

(k) Establishing a financial incentive to encourage parties to collect for recycling used mattresses discarded or illegally dumped in the state.

(l) Ensuring, to the maximum extent possible, that urban and rural local governments and participating permitted solid waste facilities and authorized solid waste operations that accept mattresses are provided with a mechanism for the recovery of illegally disposed used mattresses that is funded at no additional cost to the local government, solid waste facility, or solid waste operation.

(m) Developing strategies, in consultation with the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Task Force and other relevant parties, for collecting used mattresses for recycling in areas and communities that face unique challenges associated with proper waste management such as poverty, language barriers, and illegal mattress dumping.

(n) Providing outreach efforts and education to consumers, manufacturers, and retailers, for the purpose of promoting the recycling of used mattresses and options available to consumers for the free dropoff or collection of used mattresses.

(o) A provision that allows an individual to drop off, at no charge, a mattress at a recycler, renovator, mattress recycling center, permitted solid waste facility, authorized solid waste operation, or other municipal facility that accepts mattresses consistent with state solid waste regulations, and that provides for the payment to a municipal or solid waste facility or operation that accepts mattresses an amount determined by the municipal or solid waste facility or operation and the mattress recycling organization to be reasonable for accepting, collecting, storing, transporting, and handling used mattresses.

(p) Ensuring that the impact of Article XIII C of the California Constitution is addressed for local governments participating in the program.

(q) A report from the advisory committee, established pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 42987, that includes a summary of the consultative process between the advisory committee and the mattress recycling organization during the development of, and any updates to, the plan, as well as any other information deemed pertinent by the advisory committee to maximizing the recovery and recycling of used mattresses in the state.

(r) A contingency plan in the event the department decertifies the mattress recycling organization, or a mattress recycling plan expires, is disapproved, or is revoked. The contingency plan shall describe how the plan objectives can be carried out, in accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 42989.3, in the absence of a plan, either by the mattress recycling organization, or by the department through some entity such as an escrow company.

(s) Other information requested by the department that is reasonably related to compliance with the recycling plan and that the organization can reasonably compile.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 673, Sec. 3. (AB 187) Effective January 1, 2020.)