Washington State Carpet Stewardship Bill Dies

Seattle, WA, Feb. 9, 2012 -- Proposed legislation that would have required producers of carpet to join and fund a "carpet stewardship organization" in Washington state died without a hearing in the state Senate's Ways and Means Committee.

Tuesday was the deadline to pass bills from fiscal committees in the house of origin, which means the matter issue is effectively over for at least this year.

The bill's sponsors were seeking a more rigorous program to encourage the growth of Washington's carpet recycling infrastructure and provide a convenient and cost-effective statewide carpet recycling program, at no direct cost to residents and businesses, such as carpet installation contractors and carpet sellers.

Carpet producers would have paid for the program and contracted with carpet collectors and processors to run the program.

The carpet stewardship organization would have collected funds from producers that sell carpet in Washington.