(1) In a form and manner prescribed by the Department of Environmental Quality, a stewardship organization shall submit to the department a plan for the development and implementation of a mattress stewardship program. The plan must:

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(a) Describe how the stewardship organization will manage and administer a mattress stewardship program.

(b) Identify program mattresses.

(c) Describe how discarded mattresses that are received through collection sites or collection events and that are not program mattresses will be handled.

(d) Identify each producer, renovator and retailer that is registered with the stewardship organization as of 30 days before the plan is submitted to the department.

(e) Include a description of how the stewardship organization will provide for the environmentally sound management of program mattresses, regardless of the producer, with no charge at the point of collection of discarded mattresses, except that the stewardship organization may allow for a person that provides a premium service under the mattress stewardship program to charge for the additional cost of that premium service. The description shall include, at a minimum:

(A) Identification of the proposed transporters and recyclers that the stewardship organization will contract with to transport and process program mattresses and the recycling methods that the recyclers will use;

(B) The auditing, inspection and other procedures that will be used by the stewardship organization and the frequency at which the procedures will be implemented to ensure that all entities the stewardship organization contracts with to implement the mattress stewardship program engage in environmentally sound management practices; and

(C) A description of the processes that will be used to ensure that the recyclers contracted with by the stewardship organization to process program mattresses will comply with environmentally sound management practices.

(f) Provide service as described in ORS § 459A.162.

(g) Establish performance goals for:

(A) The collection target and recycling rates of program mattresses; and

(B) Public awareness of the mattress stewardship program.

(h) Include an anticipated annual operating budget, as described in subsection (2) of this section, for the mattress stewardship program for two years of operation of the program, beginning with the year in which the plan is submitted to the department.

(i) Include a proposed mattress stewardship assessment method for collecting the mattress stewardship assessment from retailers and a method for ensuring the assessment is remitted to the stewardship organization. The mattress stewardship assessment must be a flat amount that applies equally to each mattress sold to a consumer in this state and must be sufficient to recover, but not exceed, the costs of establishing and administering the mattress stewardship program, including but not limited to all costs incurred for the environmentally sound management of program mattresses during each stage of management, from collection of the program mattresses through final disposition of the program mattresses.

(j) Provide a mechanism to mitigate the costs associated with collection and management of discarded mattresses that are illegally dumped. The proposed mechanism must take into account the cost of one or more incentives to encourage collectors to properly dispose of discarded mattresses and discourage illegal dumping, and may include but need not be limited to proposals for funding of cleanup activities, for education and outreach or for studies to evaluate the causes of illegal dumping. The proposed mechanism may not require the stewardship organization or collectors to enter private property without authorization from the property owner or other appropriate authority.

(k) Provide for public education, advertising and promotion of discarded mattress collection opportunities statewide and on a regular basis.

(L) Include a closure plan that addresses how the stewardship organization will settle the affairs of the mattress stewardship program in the event of dissolution of the stewardship organization or cessation of operations of the mattress stewardship program by the stewardship organization in this state.

(m) Describe methods that will be used by the stewardship organization to coordinate activities with existing recycling programs, including existing nonprofit organizations that are mattress recyclers, to further the environmentally sound management of discarded mattresses.

(n) Address procedures for identifying substantial or material changes to the system for collecting discarded mattresses for which a plan amendment will be required under ORS § 459A.168.

(2) The anticipated annual operating budget for a mattress stewardship program shall include, but need not be limited to, budget line items relating to:

(a) The collection, transportation and processing of program mattresses;

(b) The administrative costs of the mattress stewardship program to the stewardship organization;

(c) The costs of compensating collection sites for their reasonable actual costs to collect and manage discarded mattresses;

(d) The anticipated amount of moneys that the stewardship organization will hold in unallocated reserve funds for the mattress stewardship program; and

(e) The annual fee to be paid to the department pursuant to ORS § 459A.174 (3).

(3) In operating a mattress stewardship program, a stewardship organization shall:

(a) Meet the requirements of the plan submitted under this section, as approved by the department pursuant to ORS § 459A.165.

(b) Meet or exceed the service requirements described in ORS § 459A.162. [2022 c.102 § 4]

See note under 459A.150.