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Department of Ecology News Release - April 11, 2007
07-081
OLYMPIA - The Department of Ecology (Ecology), partnering with local governments, the Thermostat Recycling Corp. (TRC) and the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI), today announced it is expanding a program to recycle thermostats containing mercury. Six local household hazardous waste (HHW) collection programs have committed to joining the already ten collection centers serving over 4.1 million people in Washington state.
Whatcom, Skagit, Cowlitz, Clark, Lincoln and Mason counties have committed to join the expanded program. Placement of thermostat collection bins is expected by mid-April in anticipation of Earth Day on April 22. This new program expands a successful eight-month national pilot project in which Kitsap, Snohomish, Thurston and Walla Walla counties, as well as the cities of Tacoma, Seattle and Spokane, safely recycled mercury thermostats from residents. The Local Hazardous Waste Program in King County, funded by rate payers, also participated.
"Now that this convenient program is available to more homeowners, we look to the residents of Washington to do their part and recycle the mercury thermostats they replace from their homes," said Jay Manning, director of the Washington State Department of Ecology. "Through this partnership with local governments, we can ensure a healthier environment for the citizens of our state and region, and even those beyond."
Mercury pollution is both a state and global problem, with many rivers and lakes being affected. Washington state has taken a leadership role through the Mercury Education and Reduction Act to control mercury-containing products to reduce risks to communities. Mercury-containing products can lead to contamination when thrown in the trash, where they might be crushed, incinerated, or otherwise mismanaged in a way that causes airborne releases, after which mercury falls back to earth in rainwater.
Recycling mercury-containing thermostats is an effective way to address this problem through a program established by thermostat manufacturers in 1998. As a result, TRC has collected nationally more than 430,000 mercury-containing thermostats since its inception, including 4,823 thermostats in Washington through 2005. There are three grams of mercury in every mercury thermostat switch, and an average of four grams of mercury per thermostat because some thermostats have multiple switches. Most continue to be disposed in the trash, however, so there is a clear need for ways to grow the program further.
Ecology has worked with PSI and TRC through a voluntary partnership that promotes collaboration with thermostat manufacturers; heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractors and wholesalers, as well as state and local government agencies. Other than a nominal, one-time payment for the first bin, the industry-run TRC program provides the transportation and recycling of thermostats at no charge to consumers or local governments.
Reducing toxic threats is one of Ecology's five strategic priorities in the agency's four-year action plan. Between 2001 and 2006, statewide mercury reduction efforts have resulted in approximately 2,300 pounds per year of mercury no longer being released into the environment. This is being accomplished through Ecology's Mercury Chemical Action Plan, which addresses the elimination, phase-out, collection and recycling of certain mercury-containing products.
Ecology is working in partnership with the state Department of Health, local governments, public health agencies and trade associations to reduce or eliminate those chemicals that pose significant health threats to protect the health of our citizens and our environment.
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Contacts:
Michael Bergman, toxic threats environmental educator, 360-407-6243
Ken Zarker, pollution prevention section manager, 360-407-6724
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
