Greetings.
Washington State is interested in identifying barriers in the professional contractor community (e.g., HVAC specialists, remodelers) that inhibit participation in mercury thermostat recycling efforts. (In most of our jurisdictions, infrastructure is not the problem. Many cities/counties have an accessible and robust collection grid, but contactor participation remains static or is declining.) We also interested in hearing from programs that have identified these barriers and devised successful strategies to overcome them.
Thank you.
Michael Bergman
Reducing Toxics
and Southwest Region Environmental Educator
Washington Department of Ecology
360.407.6243
[email protected]
Behavior Change: Hg Thermostat Recycling
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Dear Michael,
In Canada, Toronto-based Clean Air Foundation has been a driving force to create a national capture program for mercury containing thermostats and control switches. You may wish to contact them (http://cleanairfoundation.org/switchthestat/index.asp). Also, community-based EcoSuperior has a long history of collecting merc-stats around Lake Superior (www.ecosuperior.com). Either of these agency may have thoughts to share regarding barriers in engaging contractors based upon their considerable experience designing and operating diversion programs. Having had direct experience with HVAC contracting, I can personally know that many contractors have for years been throwing mercury-filled thermostats into the trash, simply because no take-back programs exist. Even if you have take-back "infrastructure" in place now, behaviour patterns are possibly deeply entrenched. These switch devices were in use for 50+ years, and awareness of mercury pollution still has not even "sunk in" for many policy makers. Pardon the pun! For example, "Beautiful British Columbia" still lacks an across the board take back program. I've heard an estimate that as much as 50-75% of merc-stats have already been trashed. So, if you're going to capture the remainder, the program awareness needs to been widely established, doing the "right thing" has to be made very easy, and you must convince contractors that there is good reason to stop throwing these things out with the trash, and divert the mercury now, after so many have already been sent to the landfill. In my view, our streams, lakes and fisheries can wait for policy-makers to find a voice on this one. In the Canadian context, anyway, community groups and NGOs are again proving themselves as the key change leaders. Any attempt to collect and divert mercury-containing products (and there are many) should seriously consider community-based partnerships as an effective vehicle for program design and delivery. The Canadian government did something very innovative when it allowed community groups like EcoSuperior to partner in administering its subsidy program for home energy audits. Unfortunately, most everyone overlooked the fact that the energy audits encouraged homeowners to replace their stats, before anyone established a take-back program for the mercury. EcoSuperior is a Canadian pioneer, and suggest that the community-partnership model offers tremendous potential.
Cheers,
Neil