Community Corner

Buying a Mattress in Connecticut Could Get Pricier

A proposed recycling law would be paid for by consumers.

By Eileen McNamara 

If you buy a new mattress this fall it could cost you more. 

The Connecticut legislature is considering a bill that would impose a recycling fee on mattress sales after Oct. 1. The money collected from the fees imposed, currently proposed at between $8-$12, would be used to help pay to recycle old mattresses. 

The Connecticut House on Thursday approved the measure on a vote of 117-21. It goes to the Senate next and, if approved by that body, to the governor. 

The proposal was submitted by state environmental officials who argue that disposing of old mattresses is becoming problematic for trash-to-energy plants. 

The bill is also backed by the leaders of towns and cities in Connecticut, who say the costs of cleaning up mattresses discarded illegally by the roadside, and even dealing with mattresses properly disposed of in landfills and transfer stations, is becoming burdensome.

If approved, the mattress recycling proposal would "benefit towns, taxpayers and the environment by encouraging the responsible disposal of old mattresses," Betsy Gara, the executive Director of the Connecticut Council of Small Towns, testified before the legislature's Environment Committee. 


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