Maine Offers Mercury Thermostat Recycling Incentive
In April 2006, Maine became the first state to offer a financial incentive for recycling building thermostats that contain mercury and the first state to mandate thermostat recycling for homeowners. Previous laws banned the sale of new mercury thermostats and required recycling by wholesalers. A minimum $5 incentive will be offered for each thermostat turned in, and all manufacturers that have sold mercury thermostats in Maine must develop a recycling program or risk being banned from the market.
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The Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) mediated the new law, shaping a consensus among the Thermostat Recycling Corporation, the Natural Resources Council of Maine, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and the Environmental Health Strategy Center. According to PSI, Maine is one of a dozen states regulating disposal of mercury thermostats.
Details are online at www.productstewardship.us.
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