President of Rhode Island Senate Earns MRC Award

The Mattress Recycling Council has awarded Sen. Dominick J. Ruggerio (D-North Providence) with the 2023 Environmental Stewardship Award. The award recognizes and commends elected officials and stakeholders across the United States who have made significant contributions toward protecting the environment.

Ruggerio, president of the Rhode Island Senate, was the primary sponsor for MRC-enabling legislation. The MRC is an industry-led board organized by ISPA to administer and implement mattress-recycling laws. Since 2016, the MRC, a nonprofit group, has recycled more than 600,000 mattresses in Rhode Island and diverted more than 10,500 tons away from landfills.

“It is an honor to be recognized with the Mattress Recycling Council’s Environmental Stewardship Award,” Ruggerio said. “Product stewardship initiatives like the mattress recycling program, which I was proud to sponsor when it became law a decade ago, have made a major difference in our efforts to protect Rhode Island’s environment. I am committed to our continued work together to keep our state clean, preserve our most precious resources, and create new opportunities for Rhode Islanders.”

An advocate for recycling and sustainability, Ruggerio has supported legislation to preserve the environment, including laws to establish paint and mercury recycling programs. In addition, he supported the Plastic Waste Reduction Act, designed to reduce the use of plastic bags by retail establishments and a law establishing a statewide greenhouse gas emission reduction mandate.