Oregon may soon charge a new mattress recycling fee

(MAY 30, 2024)  Do you need to buy a mattress soon? Then you might need to pay an extra fee. You might need to help pay for a new mattress recycling program in Oregon.

The goal of the program is to stop mattresses from going to landfills or being left illegally at the curb. Oregon will be one of four states with this kind of fee. Other states include California, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

The Mattress Recycling Council is preparing a plan for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Originally, the fee was going to be $22.75 per mattress, but the DEQ said that was too high. Other states charge $10.50 to $20.50. 

“We just want to make sure that this is something that isn’t an undue burden to the consumer who’s paying this fee on each mattress sold,” says Rachel Harding. She works for DEQ.

The plan includes at least one mattress collection site in every county with 10,000 people or more. The smaller counties will have at least one collection event each year. 

The program doesn't want only to recycle old mattresses. It also wants to reuse mattresses that are still in good condition. 

The program was created by law in 2022.