Mercury Switch Collection
| Organization(s) |
New Hampshire Dept. of Environmental Services
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| Project Description |
Mercury switches are small metal casings that contain approximately one gram of mercury located in vehicle trunks and hoods where they operate convenience lights. If switches are not removed prior to vehicle crushing, their mercury is emitted as an air pollutant during the final smelting process. At the urging of the NH Auto & Truck Recycler's Association, about 30 of New Hampshire's 200 salvage facilities are voluntarily collecting switches and turning them over to the NH Pollution Prevention Program which pays for their recycling.
Since collections started in 2003, the New Hampshire Pollution Prevention Program has collected and recycled a little over 3,500 switches. On April 22, NHPPP sponsored an Earth Day award ceremony to show the State's appreciation for the New Hampshire Auto and Truck Recyclers Association (NHATRA) for their promotion of the mercury switch recycling program.
Governor Lynch, DES Commissioner Nolin, NHPPP, NH DES Green Yards Program staff, members of the NHATRA, and ONYX Special Services (mercury recycler) attended the ceremony at Central Auto Sales in Concord, NH. At the event, the Governor personally removed a mercury switch from a vehicle and helped transfer the 3,500 switches to the recycler's transport container. |
| More Info |
http://www.des.state.nh.us/nhppp/Mercury/default.asp?link=merc |
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| Project Contact |
| Name |
Paul Lockwood |
| Phone |
603-271-2956 |
| E-mail |
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| Project Keywords |
| Industrial Sectors |
Auto Body |
| Activity Keywords |
Awards program |
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| Source |
| Newsletter |
Northeast States Pollution Prevention News - Vol. 15 No. 2, Fall 2005 [PDF] |
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