ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed into law a bill that requires any person or contractor who replaces a mercury-containing thermostat to deliver it to an appropriate collection site to be recycled. The bill also mandates that as of July 1, 2014, no HVAC wholesale distributor shall sell or distribute any thermostat unless the wholesaler participates as a collection site to recycle mercury thermostats.

The New York collection program is supported by the 31 manufacturers participating in the Thermostat Recycling Corp. (TRC). The New York law requires all manufacturers of mercury thermostats sold in the state to either individually or collectively participate in a collection program.

Thermostat Recycling Corp. is an industry-funded nonprofit corporation that maintains a network of more than 3,600 collection sites nationwide and has recovered more than 1.4 million mercury thermostats since its inception. For more information on the TRC program, visit www.thermostat-recycle.org.

Publication date: 1/13/2014

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