Mercury reduction

Before you buy, check what's inside.
Don't buy mercury-containing products
unless they are absolutely necessary.
Mercury-containing products must be handled with care and recycled,
not thrown in the trash or drain.

Handling mercury safely

Label mercury-containing items in your home or business. Handle them with care.

WEP wants everyone to know how to handle mercury, a silver-colored liquid metal, in an environmentally safe manner.

Properly dispose of mercury-containing items: recycle them! Whenever possible, replace mercury-containing items with alternatives before these items get broken and release the mercury in your house or business. Collect and seal these in a plastic container marked "Mercury for Recycling." Then take the container to a local mercury recycling site.
Even tiny mercury spills must be cleaned up properly. Air out the room. Never use a vacuum cleaner or shop vac to clean up a mercury spill! If mercury spills on a smooth surface, use two pieces of paper to scoop all the tiny beads into a plastic container that can be sealed. If necessary, use an eye dropper to capture the beads of mercury. Wipe the area with a damp sponge.

All cleanup material, including paper, eye dropper, and sponge, as well as any contaminated rug or portion of carpet, must be properly disposed with the mercury. Put everything in marked plastic containers and take them to a local mercury recycling site.

For larger spills, immediately call for assistance at the numbers at the bottom of this page. If human contact with mercury occurs, call the Poison Center of Central New York at 315-476-4766.

Properly dispose of mercury items: recycle them!
When a mercury-containing item no longer functions properly,
store it in a sealed, plastic container and mark it "Mercury for Recycling."
Then take the container to a local mercury recycling site.

Where is mercury used?

Many products in our businesses and homes contain mercury, for example:

Thermometers

Many thermometers contain mercury—from ½ to 3 grams. Thermometers with a different colored liquid—usually red—contain alcohol, not mercury. Glass thermometers are fragile and can be easily broken, allowing the mercury to escape and presenting a risk of exposure to the entire household, especially children.

Mercury-containing thermometers should never be thrown in the trash or put down the drain or in the toilet.

Alcohol-filled and digital thermometers are good substitutes for mercury thermometers. (Be sure to recycle the battery from your digital thermometer!)

Get rid of your thermometer

WEP sponsors a thermometer exchange program in conjunction with the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency (OCRRA) County residents may exchange a mercury fever thermometer for a new mercury-free thermometer at OCRRA's Rock Cut Road facility off Route 481. Learn more about this program.

Thermostats

Mercury-containing tilt switches have been used in thermostats for more than 40 years, but they have the potential to contaminate our environment. Now the good news: electronic mercury-free thermostats are available. As an energy conservation measure, some utilities offer free programmable thermostats to replace old ones.

Switch to an electronic or digital thermostat, and recycle the one that contains mercury. Never remove the internal mercury switch from your thermostat. If you hire a contractor to replace your mercury thermostat, select one who is participating in the Thermostat Recycling Corporation Recycling Program. If you replace the thermostat yourself, place the used thermostat in a plastic container that can be sealed marked "Mercury for Recycling." Take it to a household hazardous waste collection sponsored by the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency or a thermostat wholesaler/distributor who is participating in the Thermostat Recycling Corporation Recycling Program.

Mercury vapor bulbs

Fluorescent and other mercury vapor bulbs must be

Example of a compact fluorescent light

carefully handled and properly disposed. Mercury vapor, immediately released upon breakage, can contaminate the air we breathe.

Types of mercury vapor bulbs and their most common uses are:

Fluorescent and HID (high intensity discharge)—kitchen, workshop, garage, and other home lighting
Metal halide—street, security, and flood lights
High-pressure sodium—street, security, and flood lights
Neon, almost always colored—novelty, lounge, and retail store lighting
Automotive headlamps with characteristic blue tint when lit—Audi, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Saab and Volvo models and Lincoln Continentals.

Fluorescent lamps may be recycled at OCRRA's "Household Hazardous Waste Days" or at Ace and True Value hardware stores in Onondaga County. (Learn more.)

Identify light bulbs that contain mercury with stickers. For safety, don't put stickers on the bulbs or any fixture that could get hot.

When a mercury-containing bulb burns out, carefully remove it from its fixture, and store it in its original container or other box. With automotive headlamps, be sure to remove them before sending a retired vehicle to the scrap dealer. Mark the container "Mercury for Recycling" and take it to a local mercury recycling site.

Before you buy, check what's inside. Ask your retailer to stock new low-mercury bulbs that are now available. Remember these bulbs need to be recycled, too.

Gauges

Many barometers, manometers, blood pressure, and vacuum gauges contain mercury. Identify gauges that contain mercury with stickers. These gauges must be recycled at the end of their useful lives to keep the mercury from entering the environment. When purchasing a replacement gauge, select one that is mercury-free.

Switches

Many different items have mercury-containing switches or relays, including chest freezers, washing machines, sump and bilge pumps, clothes irons, electric space heaters, silent light switches, and vehicles. Tilt switches are found in or under the lids of chest freezers and washing machines. They turn on a light or stop the spin cycle. If a mechanical switch is not visible, a mercury switch may be inside the appliance. Vehicles and farm equipment contain mercury switches. They are in anti-lock brakes, seat belts, automatic adjusting suspension systems, and light switches in trunks or under hoods.

Identify appliances, devices or vehicles that contain mercury switches or relays. Use stickers. When you replace an appliance, device, or vehicle, remove switches and relays or ensure the switches and relays are removed, properly handled, and recycled. If you do it yourself, place the switch or relay in a plastic container that can be sealed, and mark it "Mercury for Recycling." Then take the container to a local mercury recycling site.

Pilot light sensors

Mercury-containing sensors are found in some gas-fired appliances that have pilot lights. These include stoves, ovens, water heaters, clothes dryers, furnaces and space heaters. Although some gas appliances have nonmercury thermostat probes, treat all of them as if they contain mercury.

Identify gas appliances which are likely to contain mercury with stickers. When a gas appliance is no longer useful, make sure the pilot light sensor gets recycled. Ask your scrap dealer or appliance recycling center if they professionally remove and recycle pilot light sensors. If they do not have a system in place, call for assistance at the number at the bottom of this page.

Assorted items

Many mercury-containing items are found in the home. Surprisingly, the list includes toys and children's wear:

Chemistry sets, vintage toy drawing screens, old mercury maze games, pre-1997 LA Gearr tennis shoes with light-up soles, and batteries in some children's books and watches.
Mercury is also found in latex paint made before 1990 and in mercuric oxide and old alkaline batteries. It is also in some tools, archery bows, fishing tackle, darts, and clock pendulums. These items do not pose a threat until mishandled or broken. For safety's sake, recycle these items and purchase nonmercury replacements.
Certain first aid antiseptics and contact lens solutions contain mercury compounds such as thimerosal and merbromin. Use of these products gives mercury a direct route of entry into your body and may cause mercury poisoning with frequent or prolonged use. Replace these antibacterial products with mercury-free substitutes.
Dental amalgams (used to fill cavities) contain mercury. Ask your dentist for more information on mercury substitutions.

Identify with stickers all the assorted items that contain mercury. Gather them, and place them in a plastic container that can be sealed, and mark it "Mercury for Recycling." Then take the container to a local mercury recycling site.

For additional P2 information, please contact Dave Colbert, 315-435-2260.