Mercury Thermostat Program Result of Partnership

(Port Orchard)-Starting May 1, as part of a statewide pilot project, the Kitsap County Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Facility will return mercury thermostats accepted from Kitsap County residents to the Thermostat Recycling Corporation (TRC). TRC is a cooperative venture of thermostat manufacturers to create a take-back program for thermostats containing the neurotoxin mercury. The three largest thermostat manufacturers (Honeywell, General Electric, and White-Rodgers) operate the recycling program and provide the service at no charge to consumers. The Thermostat Recycling Corporation has collected more than 430,000 mercury-containing thermostats nationwide since its inception in 1998. 

The pilot project is a cooperative effort of the Product Stewardship Institute, Inc. (PSI) and the Thermostat Recycling Corporation (TRC), the Washington State Department of Health and eight Washington counties. PSI and the TRC will oversee a five-state pilot project to determine the feasibility of accepting mercury-containing thermostats for recycling at local household hazardous waste drop-off facilities. The pilot will run through the end of December 2006 in Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida, and Washington, including the HHW Collection Facility in the Olympic View Industrial Park across from the Bremerton National Airport on Highway 3. 

The project is the latest in a series of program expansions intended to capture as many mercury thermostats as possible. Local wholesalers selling mercury thermostats have been accepting them from heating and air conditioning contractors and sending them to TRC for over a year. 

Residents may bring bulk mercury and other mercury-containing products to the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility at 5551 SW Imperial Way Thursday – Saturday from 10 am – 4 pm. Businesses with mercury and other hazardous waste must call The Open Line at 360-337-5777 to make an appointment.

Related Links:

• Policies & Legislation-Electronic Equipment and Product Stewardship
  
• Washington State Department of Health-Mercury 

Kitsap County Public Works
The Open Line
(360) 337-5777 or (800) 825-4940
openline@co.kitsap.wa.us