How can you tell if your thermometer or thermostat contains mercury?
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| Mercury thermometers have SILVER, METALLIC GREY or BLACK filling in their bulbs. Any other color filling indicates it is a non-mercury thermometer and it may be thrown in the trash at the end of its life. | Mercury thermostats have dials or levers that you need to manually adjust. If you take their faceplate off and see one or more glass ampoules (a sealed glass capsule) containing a silver substance, you have a mercury thermostat. |
If you have mercury thermometers or thermostats you can bring them to OCRRA’s Ley Creek Drop-Off Site, year-round and receive a $5 Lowe's gift card as a reward*.
As an added bonus for keeping harmful mercury objects from the waste stream, Onondaga County residents will receive a mercury-free thermometer in the mail. (Upon drop-off, residents fill out a card with their name and address and OCRRA mails them a new mercury-free thermometer and their gift card - courtesy of Covanta!)
The thermometer exchange program is made possible through a partnership between OCRRA and Covanta, the operator of the local Waste-to-Energy Facility. A portion of the program cost is also underwritten by a grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Click here for a list of other locations that accept THERMOSTATS in the community.
* One gift card per resident drop-off, regardless of number of items turned in.
Drop-off Locations
