Sleep Tight

The California legislature has a new law in mind. This one will create a non-profit mattress recycling organization to develop the system to collect mattresses, dismantle and recycle them for new products. It came as no surprise to me, a resident of California, where mattresses seem to sprout from the sidewalk ready for harvest by roving bands of mattress harvesters.
That's not really what happens. When some residents of California get tired of their old mattresses or feel that they have adequately soiled them, they toss them on the back of whatever transport suits them and they drive around until they find a suitable spot to drop the used/soiled mattress and drop them on the curb. It would be difficult for me to be fully aware of the motives of these mattresses dumpers. Perhaps they feel that they are doing their community a favor by redistributing sleep surfaces in some sort of altruistic socialist boudoir initiative. Maybe they are elves who make very old mattresses and rather than wait until Christmas and drop them down the chimney like you might expect, they toss them out on the street in hopes that some deserving, less than sanitary family might adopt their wares.
Or maybe they're just obnoxious litterbugs. I'm not sure if a queen size mattress and box spring equates directly with anyone's definition of "litter," but it would be nice to be able to bike to work for a week without being worried about dodging the debris left by the previous night's deposits. The International Sleep Products Association backs the bill, saying "“We appeal to the governor for his signature on this very important piece of legislation that will make a positive impact on keeping used mattresses out of our landfills, off highways and roads, and out of vacant lots.” What will these mattresses, previously designated to bring down property values of the neighborhoods in which they were dropped, become? Maybe some nice throw pillows, or stuffed animals. These can, in turn, be tossed in neighborhoods where lightly soiled throw pillows and stuffed animals are so desperately needed.