The Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) is a nonprofit organization formed by the mattress industry in the U.S to operate recycling programs in those states that have enacted mattress recycling laws. The program is currently running in Connecticut, California and Rhode Island. Each state’s program is funded by a recycling fee that is collected when a mattress or box spring is sold. More than 1.5 million mattresses are recycled by MRC annually.

Please click here for a complete list of included and excluded products.

Yes, if the adjustable base is covered in ticking.

No. Mattresses that are intended specifically for use in motorized vehicles are not subject to the fee.

Producers (as defined below in question 3.2), distributors and retailers of included products must register with MRC. Click here to register.

A person or entity that: a) manufactures, renovates or imports included products, and b) sells, or offers for sale those products in one or more of the states that have enacted mattress recycling laws (currently California, Connecticut or Rhode Island). In Connecticut and Rhode Island, a distributor is also considered a producer. If you meet these criteria, you must register with MRC.

A person or entity that sells or offers for sale included products to an end user through any means, including but not limited to: through a physical store, by remote offering including sales outlets or catalogs, electronically through the Internet, by telephone, via a television sales channel, or through the mail. This definition applies to sellers of included products both to residential consumers and to other end users (such as hotels, dormitories, hospitals, etc.). If you meet these criteria, you must register with MRC.

A person or entity that sells or offers for sale included products for public or corporate use (such as a hotel or other lodging establishment, school, dormitory, hospital, nursing home, correctional institution, military facility, rental company or other non-residential end user) in one or more of the states that have enacted mattress recycling laws (currently California, Connecticut or Rhode Island) through any means.

As a retailer, you must:

• Register with MRC
• Collect a "visible" recycling fee on sales of included products to end users. This means that the receipt or invoice you provide the consumer or other purchaser must show the fee as a separate line item.
• Remit the fees collected to MRC

Yes. Parties that import foreign-made mattresses or box springs and sell or distribute them to end users in one or more of the states that have enacted mattress recycling laws (currently California Connecticut or Rhode Island) must register as a producer and/or distributor.

Yes. Parties that distribute mattresses to retailers or other sellers that will ultimately be sold to end users must register with MRC as a distributor.

1. As a producer, you must register with MRC.
2. Producers selling mattresses and box springs to retailers as wholesale transactions DO NOT collect the fee.
3. Producers selling directly to end users (consumers, hotels, universities) must include the "visible" recycling fee on receipts or invoices.
4. Producers selling mattresses and box springs to rental companies in CA, RI and CT must include the “visible” recycling fee on receipts or invoices to the rental companies.
5. Remit collected fees to MRC

If you or your company distributes mattresses to retailers or other sellers that will ultimately be sold to end users, you must register with MRC indicating that you are a distributor. Distributors are not required to remit fees or report sales. If you are selling directly to end users, you must also be registered as either a retailer or an institutional seller and must meet the legal requirements under those categories.

The Uniform Registry Number (URN) is a number that is issued by individual states to manufacturers. The URN allows states to track mattresses to a specific manufacturing plant and enable cross-state sales of mattresses. It is typically found in the Registration Number field on the bedding law label.

The number should follow this format:

• The “Prefix” is a two-letter abbreviation of the state that the number is issued in.
• The “Middle” is the record identity number assigned by the state and allows it to “manage” the URN.
• The “Suffix” is a two-letter abbreviation of the state or the country in which the physical manufacturing plant is located in
  • Example - VA 12345 (CA)

Please click here for a complete list of included and excluded products.

Yes but only producers doing business in the state of California. Futons have been added to California’s definition of “mattress” as of Jan. 1, 2020. Futons are not included in MRC’s Connecticut or Rhode Island programs. Please click here for a complete list of included and excluded products by state.

California, Connecticut or Rhode Island could prohibit producers, distributors or retailers that fail to register with MRC from selling or distributing their products in those states. Other penalties/sanctions may also apply.

Please click on the following link to refer to MRC's Fee Policy.

For these purposes, a renovator (that is, a person or entity that renovates or reconditions a discarded used mattress or box spring for reuse) is considered a producer and/or distributor that must register with MRC if they sell, offer for sale, or distribute renovated mattresses or box springs in one or more of the states that have enacted mattress recycling laws (currently California, Connecticut or Rhode Island). If you sell included products to end users in any of these states, you must also register with MRC as a retailer, collect the mattress recycling fee on those sales and remit those fees to MRC.

Please contact MRC to validate the termination of any producer, distributor, renovator or retailer currently participating in these mandatory state programs. Deregistration is subject to review and approval and may take up to 90 days to take effect.

Retailers must collect the fee on all sales of all included products in California, Connecticut, or Rhode Island, even if the delivery occurs outside of that state.

Companies that sell included products online or through venues other than traditional brick-and-mortar retail store establishments such as sales to large volume purchasers (including hotels, universities, military bases, furniture rental companies, etc.), as well as sales by mail, television, etc. must collect the fee on all included products sold for delivery in California, Connecticut or Rhode Island, regardless of where the seller is located. However, in the case of online sales, when the sale originates in California but the included product is delivered outside of the state, the California recycling fee does not apply.

The fee does apply to included products sold to residential consumers by brick-and-mortar retail stores located outside of California for delivery in California.

The fee does not apply to mattresses or box springs sold to residential consumers by brick-and-mortar retail stores located outside of Connecticut for delivery in Connecticut.

The fee does not apply to mattresses or box springs sold to residential consumers by brick-and-mortar retail stores located outside of Rhode Island for delivery in Rhode Island.

For further information, please click on the following link to see MRC's Fee Policy.

A recycling fee of $11.75 in Connecticut, $10.50 in California and $16.00 in Rhode Island per unit must be collected on each mattress and box spring sold to consumers in the state(s).

The fee must be explicitly identified as a separate line item on the invoice or receipt that the retailer provides the customer. The fee must appear on the invoice or receipt as "Recycle Fee".

The fee is subject to sales tax in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

In California, the California Board of Equalization (BOE) has issued a tax opinion informing MRC that the California mattress recycling fee is not subject to sales tax.

If you sell to retailers that in turn resell your products to end users, the retailers are required to collect the fee from their end-user customers, and then remit those fees to MRC

If a producer sells directly to end users (that is, individual consumers, hotels, etc.) in one or more of the states with mattress recycling laws (currently California, Connecticut and Rhode Island), then the fee must be collected from the end user and remitted to MRC.

In the case of rentals or leases the rental or lease company is considered the end user. As a result, a producer must collect the fee when it sells a mattress to a rental or lease company operating in California, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The producer then remits those fees to MRC.

In addition to this general rule:

• In Connecticut and Rhode Island, the rental or lease company does not collect the fee from end users entering into monthly rental or lease contracts of any duration or rent-to-own agreements.
• In California, the rental or lease company must collect the fee from consumers renting or leasing a mattress for 12 months or more, or if a consumer purchases the mattress at any time during the rental or lease period and the rental company transfers ownership to the consumer, resulting in a sale. The rental company must remit those fees directly to MRC.

The recycling fee must be visible on the consumer receipt or invoice and the retailer must remit the fee amount to MRC. However, the program does not prohibit a retailer from issuing a credit, rebate or promo code to reimburse the consumer for some or all of the fee.

Yes, unless the product replacement is a no sale exchange, in which case the fee does not apply.

Participants are required to keep records of product sales for at least 3 years for audit purposes. Participants should consult the appropriate authorities to determine if records need to be retained for longer periods of time for tax or other purposes.

Each month, retailers remit the fee using a secure online portal at www.mrcreporting.org. A retailer reports the number of mattress and box spring units sold and returned during a remittance period, and then remits to MRC the fees that it collected on those net units. Effective January 1, 2020 futons are included in California’s definition of “mattress” and retailers selling futons to end users in California must report futon sales in their monthly “mattress” count. Retailers will be periodically audited to demonstrate that the fee has been properly collected on all relevant sales and accurately remitted to MRC.

Reporting is based on sales during the reporting month. A sale is considered complete when money is exchanged from the end user to the retailer and the recycling fee is collected. For example, an end user could pay for an item that is not delivered until after the reporting month closes. If the sale is completed in January but delivery occurs in February, the fee is remitted to MRC in January.

The retailer must refund the fee to the consumer when processing a return within 90 days of the date of sale. Refunds on returns made from 91 days to 120 days after the sale are at the discretion of the retailer. Since a retailer remits fees only on its net sales of included products during a reporting period, all customer refunds during that reporting period must be reflected in the net sales calculation.

Retailers must refund the recycling fee within 90days of the date of sale. Refunds on returns made from 91 days to 120 days after the sale are at the discretion of the retailer. All refunds must be reflected in the net sales calculation in the month the refund occurred.

Retailers remit the recycling fees they collect to MRC monthly. Fees collected on sales during a given calendar month must be remitted to MRC by no later than 30 days following the end of that month. For example, fees that a retailer collected in March must be remitted to MRC by April 30 (that is, 30 days after the end of March).

Yes. Even if a registered retailer sells no included products during a given month, the retailer still must file a report with MRC.

Please refer to MRC's Fee Policy.

Please refer to MRC's Fee Policy.

Once a report is submitted, payment of fees can be made by:

1. check or money order
2. electronic transfer (ACH) from the participant’s financial institution or
3. online Pre-Authorized Debit (PAD) payment through the web portal.

Information for submitting payment is found on your invoice.

In California, a retailer that delivers a new mattress to a consumer must offer to pick up the consumer's discarded mattress at no additional charge. Retailers are not required to “recycle” but may voluntarily participate in the recycling program at no cost by delivering, whether in house or through a third party, used mattresses, box springs and futons (CA only) to recyclers under contract with MRC. Retailers are not prohibited from charging delivery or set up fees.

In Connecticut and Rhode Island, there is no pick up requirement, however retailers cannot charge consumers for the recycling of a discarded mattress or box spring through MRC’s program. Connecticut and Rhode Island retailers are not prohibited from charging delivery or set up fees.

Effective Jan. 1, 2021, ALL retailers in California are required by law to offer no-charge pick up of a customer’s used mattress and/or box spring when the sold mattress and/or box spring is delivered. Previously those using a common carrier for delivery were exempt. Those retailers delivering units through common carriers have 30 days to arrange for pick up of the consumer’s used mattress or box spring.

Yes. Under the law, “A retailer or third party contractor delivering a new mattress may refuse to pick-up a used mattress from a consumer if the retailer or contractor determines the used mattress is contaminated and poses a risk to personnel, new products, or equipment.”

Just as the recycling fee is applicable to both, the retailer pick up obligation applies to all items defined as a “mattress” under the law in California. For more information about products that are included/excluded from MRC’s program by state visit https://www.mrcreporting.org/Pages/InclExclProducts.aspx.

No. If a consumer picks up a unit from a retail store, the retailer is not required to offer to pick up a consumer’s used mattress or box spring.

Under the law: ““Consumer” means an owner of a mattress, including a person, business, corporation, limited partnership, nonprofit organization or governmental entity and including the ultimate purchaser, owner or lessee of a mattress.” After January 1, 2021 all retailers that deliver a new unit(s) to a California consumer, including an institutional consumer, must offer to take away a used unit(s).

Retailers can generally follow a 1:1 rule for units delivered to those picked up from the consumer. However, if a mattress is being delivered that does not require a box spring, retailers should be prepared to pick up both a used mattress and a box spring

Under the law, retailers cannot charge the consumer for the pick up of used units. However, retailers are not prohibited from charging for delivery services, including “white glove” delivery services.

Yes, retailers can continue to charge a return fee for mattress returns. However, a return fee cannot be used to price-discriminate between consumers who needed a mattress hauled away and those who did not. A return fee cannot result in a consumer effectively incurring additional costs to have a mattress hauled away.

If there is no “sale,” the take-back requirement does not apply. For a mattress to change ownership without there being a sale, the mattress must have been given in exchange for no money, goods, services, or anything of value whatsoever. Although section 42992 does not expressly reference a “sale,” when a donation takes place there is no “retailer” or “consumer” as contemplated by the statute, because there is no “sale.” As long as there is no sale under the statute, there is no take-back obligation.

Under the laws in each of the states with mattress recycling laws, MRC will not disclose such information to the public or competitors.