Thermostat Recycling

The Thermostat Recycling Corp., Rossyln, Va., and the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) Inc., Boston, have announced the creation of a nationwide mercury themostat recycling program. Under the program, residents can take mercury-containing thermostats to local household hazardous waste collection facilities.

The program comes after an eight-month pilot project in Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Washington and Florida. In all, the project collected roughly 3,000 mercury-added thermostats for recycling.

“Homeowners have historically had limited or inconvenient options to recycle their mercury thermostats outside of using a contractor,” said Scott Cassel, executive director of PSI, in a press release. “This program provides residents with a safe way to recycle and could save communities hundreds of thousands of dollars in mercury thermostate management costs.”