Used Mattress Recovery and Recycling Plan – Mattress Recycling Council
Summary
SCH Number
2026070570
Public Agency
California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
Document Title
Used Mattress Recovery and Recycling Plan – Mattress Recycling Council
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
7/15/2026
Document Description
The Used Mattress Recovery and Recycling Act (Public Resources Code [PRC] sections 42985-42994) requires a mattress recycling organization to submit a mattress recycling plan to CalRecycle for CalRecycle’s approval. The mattress recycling plan must be designed to establish a convenient and cost-effective program to reduce illegal dumping, increase recycling, and substantially reduce public agency costs for the end-of-life management of used mattresses. Mattress Recycling Council (MRC), a nonprofit mattress recycling organization established by mattress manufacturers, renovators, and retailers, designs and implements the mattress stewardship program described in its plan. Since 2015, MRC has collected and managed used mattresses in California by establishing public no-cost drop-off sites, funding the collection of illegally dumped mattresses, and coordinating with retailers to offer pickup of used mattresses when new mattresses are delivered to consumers. On February 13, 2026, MRC submitted to CalRecycle a new mattress recycling plan, titled Used Mattress Recovery and Recycling Plan. CalRecycle conditionally approved the plan on May 13, 2026.
Contact Information
Name
Katalynna Vang
Agency Name
California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
Job Title
Environmental Scientist
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Counties
Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, Yuba
Regions
Statewide
Other Information
The program, as described in the conditionally approved mattress recycling plan, is required to be implemented statewide. The conditional approval of MRC’s mattress recycling plan is not a “project” under the Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations (14 CCR), section 15378(a).
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
CEQA Guidelines sections 15308, 15061(b)(3), 15378(a)
Reasons for Exemption
CalRecycle’s approval of stewardship plans is not a “project.” "Project" means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment." (14 CCR section 15378(a)).
CalRecycle mattress recycling plan approvals have no direct effect on the environment and no reasonably foreseeable indirect impacts on the environment. There are no requirements in the mattress recycling plan from which any environmental impacts, direct or indirect, can be discerned. There are no standards or targets set in the mattress recycling plan on which to base an objective analysis of any potential impacts. To impute any general or specific environmental effects from the approval of mattress recycling plans would be entirely speculative, and CEQA does not require a lead agency to speculate as to potential impacts.
Even if the approval of a mattress recycling plan could be considered a project, it would be categorically exempt pursuant to 14 CCR section 15308 of the CEQA guidelines, as the approval of the stewardship plan is to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment (see PRC section 42985).
CalRecycle is one of the agencies specified in PRC section 21159.4 required to perform environmental analyses for the adoption of certain rules and regulations pursuant to PRC section 21159 and section 15187 of the CEQA guidelines. However, CalRecycle’s approval of the mattress recycling plan does not create any requirement for the installation of pollution control equipment, or a performance standard or treatment requirement. As such, no environmental analysis is required pursuant to PRC section 21159.
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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