Feb. 10, 2006: Thermostat Recycling Collections Continued to Grow in 2005
ROSSLYN, Va. - The Thermostat Recycling Corp. (TRC) announced that it recovered close to 88,000 thermostats containing more than 819 pounds of mercury in 2005. These are increases of 10 percent and 12 percent, respectively, over the quantity of thermostats and amount of mercury recovered in 2004. Since its inception in January 1998, the TRC has now recycled nearly 420,000 mercury switch thermostats and removed more than 3,800 pounds of mercury from the nation's waste stream. Collections were highest in Florida, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio.
The TRC is a private corporation established by the nation's largest thermostat manufacturers, Honeywell, White Rodgers, and General Electric. It is a voluntary, industry-sponsored program that provides a mechanism for the proper disposal of mercury switch thermostats, regardless of brand. The program began operating in nine states (Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) in 1998, but by 2001 was active in the remaining lower 48 states as well. More than 1,300 HVAC wholesalers participate in the TRC (a full list of participating wholesalers is available at www.nema.org/trc).