Rhode Island § 23-90-4 - Responsible Recycling, Reuse and Disposal of Mattresses

§ 23-90-4. Mattress stewardship council established.

(a) On or before July 1, 2015, each producer shall join the council and such council shall submit a plan, for the corporation director’s approval, to establish a statewide mattress stewardship program, as described in this section. Any retailer may be a member of such council. Such mattress stewardship program shall, to the extent it is technologically feasible and economically practical:

(1) Minimize public sector involvement in the management of discarded mattresses;

(2) Provide for the convenient and accessible statewide collection of discarded mattresses from any person in the state with a discarded mattress that was discarded in the state, including from participating covered entities that accumulated and segregated a minimum of fifty (50) discarded mattresses for collection at one time, or a minimum of thirty (30) discarded mattresses for collection at one time in the case of participating municipal transfer stations;

(3) Provide for council-financed recycling and disposal of discarded mattresses;

(4) Provide suitable storage containers at permitted municipal transfer stations, municipal government property or other solid waste management facilities for segregated, discarded mattresses, or make other mutually agreeable storage and transportation agreements at no cost to such municipality provided the municipal transfer station, municipal government property or other solid waste management facilities make space available for such purpose and imposes no fee for placement of such storage container on its premises;

(5) Include a uniform mattress stewardship fee that is sufficient to cover the costs of operating and administering the program; and

(6) Establish a financial incentive that provides for the payment of a monetary sum, established by the council, to promote the recovery of mattresses.

(b) The council shall be a nonprofit organization with a fee structure that covers, but does not exceed, the costs of developing the plan and operating and administering the program in accordance with the requirements of this chapter, and maintaining a financial reserve sufficient to operate the program over a multi-year period of time in a fiscally prudent and responsible manner. The council shall maintain all records relating to the program for a period of not less than three (3) years.

(c) Pursuant to the program, recycling shall be preferred over any other disposal method to the extent that recycling is technologically feasible and economically practical.

(d) The council shall enter into an agreement with the corporation to reimburse for reasonable costs directly related to administering the program but not to exceed the cost of two (2) full time equivalent employees.