Listen to this articleDanielle Myers is operations & compliance manager of Thermostat Recycling Corporation (TRC). She joined TRC in 2016 and is responsible for administrative and operations functions, while managing the processing facility’s performance, reporting on issues and maintaining regulatory compliance. Below is our recent interview with Danielle Myers:
Q: Can you give us some background on Thermostat Recycling Corp. and explain what you do?
A: Thermostat Recycling Corporation is a nonprofit stewardship organization that facilitates and manages the collection and proper disposal of mercury-containing thermostats. Originally founded in 1998 by Honeywell, White-Rodgers and General Electric as a voluntary venture, it was established to promote the safe collection and proper disposal of mercury-containing thermostats. Today, 31 manufacturers support the program. Its members’ continuing financial support demonstrates their commitment to a cleaner environment, with a simple, collective goal: Keep mercury out of the waste stream to protect the environment.
In 2006, we expanded our recycling program to include household hazardous waste collection sites and thermostat retailers.
Today, more than 3,600 businesses and communities in 48 states are enrolled in TRC’s program. Since its founding, TRC has collected more than 2.5 million mercury-containing thermostats keeping 12 tons of mercury out of the waste stream.
Q: How did you expand the program that allowed you to make tremendous inroads into collecting and recycling all these thermostats and removing mercury from the environment?
A: The backbone of our program is our relationship with Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI), which as we all know is the premier wholesale HVACR organization in the country. HARDI members place our collection bins in their locations and offer a free, easy, simple way for contractors to drop off the mercury-containing thermostats after replacing a unit with a newer model.
Q: Can you share some of the marketing efforts you’ve conducted to “get the word out”?
A: In 2018, we launched Recycle Your Mercury Thermostat Day, which Chase’s Calendar of Events added to its annual listing. We did this to add national emphasis to our mercury-containing thermostat recycling efforts.
Annually, we sponsor our Banish Mercury off the Planet competition. We recognize three wholesalers at HARDI’s annual conference in December who have been the most successful in their recycling efforts.
Winners in 2019, included:
• Recycled the most amount of mercury overall with 122.99 pounds: Johnstone Supply.
• Recycled the highest average pounds of mercury (total pounds of mercury divided by number of branches that returned a bin) with 2.49 pounds: Dubuque Supply.
• Highest participation rate (for distributors with more than 10 locations) with 96% participation: Johnson Supply.
