MERCURY-FREE THEMOSTAT ACT - ENACTMENT
Act of Oct. 9, 2008, P.L. 1346, No. 97 Cl. 27
AN ACT
Prohibiting the sale, installation and disposal of mercury
thermostats; and prescribing penalties.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Mercury-Free
Thermostat Act.
Section 2. Legislative findings.
The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) Waterways throughout this Commonwealth have been
placed under fish consumption advisory warnings due to high
levels of mercury contamination.
(2) Human exposure to mercury from thermostats is
primarily through improper disposal of items in landfills or
through incineration.
(3) Mercury thermostats represent the largest amount of
mercury in ordinary household products. A single mercury
thermostat contains between three and five grams of mercury.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency's 2002
estimates, each year about six to eight tons of mercury from
discarded thermostats end up in solid waste facilities and
between one and two tons are released into the air.
(4) Electronic programmable thermostats that do not
contain mercury are readily available and can save consumers
considerable money in energy costs when used properly. Snap-
switch thermostats that function like mercury thermostats,
but contain no mercury, are also available.
(5) The Commonwealth supports shared responsibility for
all stakeholders including manufacturers, retailers,
wholesalers, local and state governments working to resolve
those issues and efforts to reduce mercury entering the
atmosphere and water supply from all sources in the most
cooperative and cost-effective means available.
(6) The nonprofit Thermostat Recycling Corporation
(TRC), created and supported by thermostat manufacturers, is
a voluntary program designed to collect mercury thermostats
from wholesalers. The TRC has been operating in this
Commonwealth since 2000 and has recycled almost 30,000
thermostats, thereby diverting more than 284 pounds of
mercury in seven years in Pennsylvania. This Commonwealth has
been a consistently high-performing state under the program,
with collections higher than all but five other states in
2007. Collections in Pennsylvania peaked at 7,019 thermostats
in 2006.
(7) It is in the public interest to increase the scope
and effectiveness of mercury thermostat collection programs
through promotion and expansion of recycling efforts and
banning the sale, installation and disposal of mercury
thermostats in this Commonwealth.
Section 3. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Department." The Department of Environmental Protection of
the Commonwealth.
"Manufacturer." The owner of a brand name on a thermostat.
"Mercury thermostat." A product or device that contains
mercury or a mercury compound and is used to sense and control
room temperature through communication with heating, ventilating
or air-conditioning equipment. The term does not include such
products or devices used to sense and control temperature as
part of a manufacturing process.
"Retailer." A business that sells thermostats of any kind
directly to homeowners, other nonprofessionals or contractors
through any selling or distribution mechanism, including, but
not limited to, sales using the Internet or catalogs. A retailer
may also be a wholesaler if the retailer meets the definition of
wholesaler.
"Wholesaler." A business that the Department of
Environmental Protection determines is primarily engaged in the
distribution and wholesale selling of large quantities of
heating, ventilation and air conditioning components to
contractors who install heating, ventilation and air
conditioning components.
Section 4. Prohibition on sale and installation of mercury
thermostats.
Beginning one year after the effective date of this section,
no person shall sell, offer for sale or install a mercury
thermostat in this Commonwealth.
Section 5. Prohibiting disposal of mercury thermostats.
(a) General rule.--Beginning one year after the effective
date of this section, no person, municipality or operator of a
solid waste treatment, processing or disposal facility shall
knowingly dispose, permit the disposal of or send to a resource
recovery facility for processing a mercury thermostat from which
the mercury has not been removed for reuse, recycling or other
methods approved by the department.
(b) Exception.--No operator of a solid waste treatment,
processing or disposal facility shall be found to have knowingly
disposed of a mercury thermostat if the facility has notified
customers of the ban in writing and posted signs at the facility
clearly noting the prohibition.
(c) Construction.--This subsection shall not be construed to
affect prior existing laws, rules or regulations more stringent
than the provisions under subsection (a) governing the disposal
of mercury, mercury thermostats and other products containing
mercury.
Section 6. Collection and recycling programs.
(a) Manufacturer programs.--
(1) Each manufacturer of mercury thermostats that have
been sold in this Commonwealth shall, individually or
collectively, establish and maintain a department-approved
collection and recycling program for out-of-service mercury
thermostats from wholesalers, contractors and retailers,
service technicians and homeowners.
(2) The program shall be developed in a manner that
ensures to the maximum extent that:
(i) The capture of out-of-service mercury
thermostats is maximized.
(ii) There is no direct cost to contractors, service
technicians or homeowners for participating in the
program, except that wholesalers, contractors and
retailers may be assessed a nominal administrative fee to
offset the cost of each collection bin for each
collection location for out-of-service thermostats.
(iii) Information and education on proper management
and recycling of mercury thermostats are provided to
contractors, service technicians, wholesalers, retailers,
institutions and homeowners to encourage the return of
out-of-service thermostats at established recycling
collection points.
(iv) The purchase of mercury-free programmable
thermostats qualified by the Environmental Protection
Agency's Energy Star program as replacements for mercury
thermostats is encouraged.
(v) Mechanisms are in place to protect against the
fraudulent return of thermostats.
(vi) The handling and recycling of mercury
thermostats is accomplished in a manner compliant with
section 5 and all other applicable Federal, State and
local requirements.
(vii) The program otherwise implements all aspects
of the collection program as instructed by the
department.
(b) Wholesaler and retailer participation.--
(1) Beginning one year after the effective date of this
section, except as provided for in paragraph (4), a
wholesaler or retailer may not sell a thermostat in this
Commonwealth unless the wholesaler, retailer or contractor
acts as a collection site for thermostats that contain
mercury.
(2) A wholesaler, retailer or contractor may meet the
requirements of this subsection by participating as a
collection site in a manufacturer collection program as
described under subsection (a) or by collecting thermostats
that contain mercury and managing the collected thermostats
in accordance with applicable Federal and State universal
waste rules.
(3) A wholesaler or retailer acting as a collection site
shall provide visible signage at the site about the
collection and recycling of mercury thermostats.
(4) A retailer or contractor that sells thermostats, but
chooses not to act as a collection site or participate in a
manufacturer collection program as a collection site, shall
provide notice to consumers that recycling of mercury
thermostats is required under Pennsylvania law, and the
notice shall include the specific names and locations of any
collection sites within reasonably close proximity that
recycle mercury thermostats.
(c) Department oversight.--
(1) Each manufacturer shall submit to the department for
review and approval the collection and recycling program
required under subsection (a) no later than 180 days after
the effective date of this section. The proposed collection
and recycling program may include appropriate enhancements to
an existing program or a new program.
(2) Within 30 days after receipt of a manufacturer's
proposed collection and recycling program, the department
shall issue a public notice of the availability of the
proposal and solicit public comment for 30 calendar days.
Within 90 days after receipt of a proposal, the department
shall approve, conditionally approve or disapprove the
proposed collection and recycling program.
(3) If the proposed collection and recycling program is
approved, with or without conditions, the manufacturer or
manufacturers shall begin implementing the program within 90
days after receipt of approval.
(4) If the entire proposed collection and recycling
program is not approved, the department shall inform the
manufacturer as to the reasons for the disapproval. The
manufacturer shall have 30 days thereafter to submit a
revised plan.
(5) Within 30 days after receipt of a manufacturer's
revised collection and recycling program, the department
shall issue a public notice of the availability of the
revised proposal and solicit public comments for 30 calendar
days. Within 90 days after receipt of a proposal, the
department shall approve, conditionally approve or disapprove
the proposed collection and recycling program.
(6) If the revised collection and recycling program is
not approved, the manufacturer shall be considered out of
compliance for the purposes of subsection (b) beginning on
the date the revised plan is disapproved by the department.
(7) In conducting its duties under this subsection, the
department shall take into account the experience of
thermostat collection programs in other states. The
department shall approve a manufacturer's proposed collection
and recycling program if it contains terms and conditions
sufficient for the department to conclude that the proposed
program will substantially improve and sustain mercury
thermostat collection and recycling in this Commonwealth.
(d) Safe management and recycling program.--The department
shall provide education and outreach to business, local
government, schools and the public on proper management of
mercury thermostats and other products containing mercury,
including a listing of department-approved collection sites. A
list of department-approved collection sites shall also be
distributed to wholesalers, retailers and contractors or made
available on the department's Internet website.
(e) Reporting.--
(1) Each manufacturer with an approved collection and
recycling program shall submit an annual report to the
department by June 1 of each year that includes:
(i) The number of mercury thermostats collected and
recycled by the manufacturer pursuant to this act during
the previous year.
(ii) The estimated total amount of mercury contained
in the mercury components collected by the manufacturer
pursuant to this act during the previous year.
(iii) An evaluation of the effectiveness of the
manufacturer's collection and recycling program and any
recommendations for improvements, including modifications
to the program.
(iv) Collection goals which shall be established to
ensure an increase in the number of mercury thermostats
collected each year until 2015 or a time that the
department determines that the number of in-service
thermostats is steadily declining as a result of the ban
on sales and installation.
(2) Within 90 days after receipt of the manufacturer's
annual reports, the department shall publish information in
its Internet website about the collection and recycling of
mercury thermostats in this Commonwealth. This information
shall include:
(i) A description of the collection and recycling
program established under this act.
(ii) Collection goals and data on actual collection
rates.
(3) In conjunction with the manufacturer, the department
may alter any and all elements of the previously approved
manufacturer collection and recycling program, including, but
not limited to, the number and location of the collection
points and collection goals and means to achieve established
goals, provided alterations are not inconsistent with the
requirements of this and other applicable laws.
(4) The Secretary of Environmental Protection may
discontinue the requirement for the annual report pursuant to
this subsection on finding that mercury thermostats no longer
pose a threat to the environment and to public health.
Section 7. Penalties.
The department may assess civil penalties for violations of
this act. The penalty shall not exceed $2,500 per day for each
violation. Each day of continued violation, and each violation
of any provision of this act, any rule or regulations adopted
under this act, any order of the department or any condition or
term of a collection and recycling program approved pursuant to
this act shall constitute a separate offense and violation.
Section 8. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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