What is the purpose of the Program?

The goal of the program is to recycle all mercury-containing thermostats that are taken out of use.

What is the Thermostat Recycling Corporation (TRC)?

TRC is a non-profit corporation voluntarily founded by thermostat manufacturers Honeywell, White-Rodgers and General Electric for the purpose of collecting and properly disposing mercury-containing thermostats. TRC now represents 30 manufacturers that historically distributed mercury-containing thermostats in the US. TRC’s commitment to collect and properly dispose of mercury-containing thermostats reflects its members’ commitment to keep those thermostats out of the solid waste stream.

What should I do?

Whenever you replace a mercury-containing thermostat, keep the old one and return it to a participating TRC collection site. Put the waste thermostat in the collection container provided by TRC.

What does it cost?

Outside of a reasonable one-time $25 per container participation fee, TRC assumes all costs to ship and process mercury-containing thermostats collected through the program. There are absolutely no fees for contractors or homeowners to discard thermostats in TRC recycling containers.

Then who pays for the program?

Members of TRC fund the program through annual participation fees. TRC assesses fees on a proportional basis based on the prior year’s collections of member-branded thermostats.

What thermostats can be recycled?

The program accepts all brands of wall-mount mercury-containing thermostats.

Who’s eligible to participate as a collection location?

Heating and air conditioning (HVAC) wholesale distributors, retailers who sell thermostats or related household hazardous waste in the continental U.S. HVAC contracting businesses with more than seven technicians or serving rural communities can also participate as collection locations.

Where do I drop-off mercury-containing thermostats?

There are over 3,000 collection locations in 47 states and the number keeps growing. You can search the list of TRC locations on this site. If your HVAC wholesaler, thermostat retailer or local hazardous waste program isn’t participating, ask them to start now.

I'm an HVAC contracting business, can I direct ship waste mercury thermostats to TRC?

Yes, HVAC contracting businesses with seven (7) or more technicians or those that serve rural communities are eligible to participate in the program. Use TRC's "Contractor" order form to sign your business up today.