The Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI) opposes California bill AB 863 (Aguiar-Curry), which unnecessarily threatens the entire flooring industry. The bill would replace the existing and successful California Carpet Stewardship Program with an industry-funded program covering carpet, carpet cushion, resilient flooring, and synthetic turf. If enacted, AB 863 would upend the significant progress of the current carpet recycling program, create uncertainty in California’s flooring industry, and add significant cost to all covered products.
The bill, introduced in 2023, was recently amended to include these changes, and the timing does not allow for the appropriate legislative review and debate necessary for a bill with such sweeping ramifications.
“AB 863 is unnecessary and destructive legislation for the current California carpet recycling program, which has increased the carpet recycling rate in California from 4 percent in 2011 to 41 percent in 1Q 2024,” said Russ Delozier, president of the Carpet and Rug Institute. “The bill would introduce enormous complexity to California’s carpet industry and other flooring products. The compliance burden for flooring manufacturers to continue selling product in California is unknown, because many of the bill’s requirements will be created through future regulations rather than through the legislation itself. This bill targets flooring retailers, manufacturers, recyclers, and California consumers who are already burdened with overwhelming cost increases. The CRI strongly urges all flooring industry stakeholders in California to join CRI in opposing AB 863.”