Two Nonprofits Team Up with National Thermostat Recycling Program

Following a successful nine-month pilot program, a mercury-thermostat recycling program is being rolled out nationwide. Created by the independent nonprofit Product Stewardship Institute and the industry-owned nonprofit Thermostat Recycling Corporation, the program works with municipal hazardous waste collection programs to collect thermostats from consumers. Local programs receive a designated container for a small, one-time fee, and the program pays for the shipping and processing of the collected thermostats as well as replacement containers. The GE Lighting website reports that a typical thermostat contains about 3,000 milligrams (mg) of mercury, compared with about 5 mg in a compact fluorescent lamp (CFL). More information about the program is available at www.productstewardship.us/mercury/.