Oct. 24 is Recycle Your Mercury Thermostat Day
Thermostat Recycling Corp. Urges Consumers & Contractors to Take a Moment to Recycle Mercury-Containing Thermostats
New York — Thermostat Recycling Corp. (TRC) advises consumers to check their thermostats and recycle them if their unit contains mercury on Tuesday, Oct. 24, Recycle Your Mercury Thermostat Day.
“TRC has successfully recycled more mercury-containing thermostats than anyone else in the country,” said Danielle Myers, executive director, TRC. “Despite recycling millions of units, our goal is the endless quest to find and recycle that last unit. While newer models have been on the market for years, when not properly recycled, older units could pose a potential health risk. This is the day to check the unit in your home or business.”
This year’s Recycle Your Mercury ThermostatDay celebration coincides with TRC’s 25th anniversary. It started in 1998 as an industry-funded nonprofit foundedby three manufacturers that branded and sold in the United States. Today, many more manufacturers have joined the cause to diligently recycle mercury-containing thermostats in the 48 contiguous states. TRC has collected more than 13 tons of mercury during these 25 years and continues to keep mercury out of the waste stream in order to protect the environment.
Mercury was a component in thermostats until the industry discontinued the practice. U.S. manufacturers stoppedmaking them between 2004 and 2007, but it is a reasonable assumption that some units probably remain in aging homes.
TRC has been unrelenting in its mission to gain awareness from the public and the HVAC industry that mercury-containing thermostats exist and should be recycled properly. “It is a message that we have delivered consistently for more than 20 years, and it is one that is worth repeating as long as these units exist,” said Myers.
An essential component of our mission has been our collection locations, which include wholesalers, retailers and household hazardous waste facilities that collect the units in containers supplied by TRC. The locations send the thermostats to a TRC processing facility, where experts dismantle the units and remove the mercury for recycling and safe storage. Mercury is an element and cannot be destroyed.
TRC created Recycle Your Mercury Thermostat Day in 2018 as part of its marketing and public relations efforts to highlight the need to collect and safely recycle these units.
“We initiated this special day to raise awareness among consumers about the need to identify and recycle outdated mercury thermostats,” Myers said. “Our initiative also reminds HVAC professionals, who frequently handle replacements, to deposit these thermostats at their closest participating distributor. We’ve successfully recycled countless units, but our goal is to collect each and every one.”
Consumers and contractors can find their nearest recycling location using their ZIP code at www.thermostat-recycle.org.
About Thermostat Recycling Corporation
Thermostat Recycling Corp., founded in 1998, is an industry-funded nonprofit corporation supported by 28 manufacturers that historically branded and sold mercury thermostats in the United States. TRC maintains a network of more than 3,600 collection sites nationwide and has recovered more than 2.9 million thermostats containing 13 tons of mercury since its inception. TRC assumes all costs to transport and properly dispose of mercury switch thermostats recovered from service. To learn more about TRC, visit www.thermostat-recycle.org
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