Thermostat Recycling Corp. Recycling Program Increases 3 Percent Through Q3 Collections

November 20, 2019

Thermostat Recycling Corp. (TRC) collections have increased 3 percent ending with its third-quarter collection efforts between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30. Year-to-date, Johnstone Supply leads the pack of collection locations where at least one thermostat was recycled, followed by R.E. Michel and Wheelabrator. The following is the top 10 list and the number of thermostats collected:

Johnstone Supply, 17,645
R.E. Michel, 10,386
Wheelabrator, 6,207
United Refrigeration, 3,340
Ferguson, 2,439
US Air Conditioning Distributors, 2,151
F.W. Webb, 1,938
Rise Engineering, 1,800
Lennox, 1,580
Watsco, 1,396

The states with the most recycled mercury-containing thermostats were California with 12,102, Massachusetts with 10,525, and Pennsylvania with 7,048.

Overall, TRC has collected the equivalent of 122,784 mercury-containing thermostats compared with 119,672 units during the same period in 2018.

"The continued increase in recycling results, confirmed by our most recent statistics, demonstrates the effectiveness of TRC's collection efforts," said Danielle Myers, operations and compliance manager, TRC. "We remain on-target with our mission of removing mercury-containing thermostats from the environment. Our success rests heavily on our collection partners, who continue to show both diligence in their collection efforts and a commitment to a safer environment."

Thermostat Recycling Corp., founded in 1998, is an industry-funded nonprofit corporation supported by 31 manufacturers that historically branded and sold mercury thermostats in the United States. TRC maintains a network of more than 3,600 collection sites nationwide and has recovered more than 2.5 million thermostats, containing 12 tons of mercury, since its inception. TRC assumes all costs to transport and properly dispose of mercury switch thermostats recovered from service.