Mercury negotiators reach deal on recycling
House and Senate negotiators on Wednesday evening broke through with a compromise on mercury thermostat recycling legislation that has been tied up in conference since last December.
The compromise bill was immediately accepted by the Senate, and now sits before the House for action. The bill seeks to encourage the recycling of mercury lamps and thermostats by requiring thermostat manufacturers to make collection containers available to wholesalers, retailers, contractors and local government entities and to conduct outreach and education campaigns about recycling the hazardous material.
“Mercury is a very, very dangerous chemical,” said Sen. Stephen Brewer, D-Barre, who helped negotiate the final bill.
Asked why it took roughly seven months to reach compromise, Brewer said, “I don’t know. I’ve seen elephant gestation periods that don’t last as long, but all’s well that ends well.”
Mercury-added lamp manufacturers would be assessed an annual registration fee of up to $10,000 to be used by the Department of Environmental Protection for proper recycling and disposal of mercury lamps, which have largely been replaced in the market by newer LED bulbs. If the fees to don’t add up to $300,000 in a given year, DEP can raise the fees under the legislation.
The bill would prohibit thermostat wholesalers from selling any thermostat unless they act as collection sites for mercury-added thermostats, and contractors participating in any state energy efficiency or weatherization program would be required to recycle mercury thermostats removed from the project.
Brewer and Rep. Anne Gobi, D-Spencer, who is running to succeed Brewer in the Senate, co-chaired the conference committee on the mercury bill that was appointed last December.
The Senate unanimously approved its mercury bill in March 2013 and the House passed its version a year ago, in July 2013. All six conferees – which included Brewer, Gobi and Sen. Jennifer Flanagan, D-Leominster – signed off on the compromise.
Modern thermostats do not contain mercury. The thermostat recycling provisions in the bill would sunset on Dec. 31, 2022.
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