JANUARY 25, 2010 - COVANTA ENERGY AND CITY'S DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES TEAM UP TO HELP LOCAL RESIDENTS RECYCLE MERCURY-CONTAINING PRODUCTS
Honolulu, HI, January 25, 2010 – Oahu residents will receive a $5 gift card in exchange for each mercury-containing thermometer or medical device that is turned in, courtesy of Covanta Energy and the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services (ENV). The collection drive will take place at ENV’s Household Hazardous Waste events scheduled to take place throughout 2010, starting with the first one on February 6.
“It is essential that mercury does not enter the environment and that’s why the collection and recycling of products containing mercury is so extremely important,” Timothy Steinberger, director of ENV, said. “The public can contribute to the reduction of mercury by purchasing mercury-free products and correctly disposing of older products still containing mercury. Our objective is to reduce demand for products whose production leads to the release of mercury into the environment.”
Covanta Honolulu R. R. V., a subsidiary of Covanta Energy that operates the H-POWER Energy-from-Waste facility, is distributing Long’s/CVS gift cards to encourage proper recycling of common household mercury-containing devices instead of simply tossing those hazardous items into household trash cans. An average fever thermometer contains one gram of mercury, an enormous amount when contrasted to compact fluorescent lights – which contain approximately 1/250th of that amount. Other medical devices like blood pressure meters (sphygmomanometers) can also contain significant amounts of mercury, in the range of 20-60 grams. Once in the waste stream, such devices may break and release mercury into the environment.
“By taking advantage of this program and replacing an old mercury-based thermometer with a new non-mercury based one, residents can help the environment by insuring the proper disposal of mercury,” said Rodney Smith, H-POWER’s Business Manager. “Covanta is committed to helping the communities we serve by removing mercury from the waste stream, and we are proud to be working with the City and County of Honolulu on this important initiative to remove toxics from the waste stream.”
Covanta is conducting similar mercury recycling programs in a majority of the communities it serves. Most of Covanta’s programs on the Mainland additionally target the collection of thermostats, a less common item for Honolulu given the area’s climate.
A mercury thermometer can be easily identified by the presence of a silver bulb. (One exception to this is the new fever thermometers containing gallium, indium and tin that also contain a silver bulb but are clearly marked mercury-free.) If the bulb is red, blue, purple, green or any other color, it is not a mercury thermometer.
The mercury collection will be in conjunction with ENV’s Household Hazardous Waste events held throughout 2010. As with all Household Hazardous Waste collection events, residents are required to make an appointment with ENV one week in advance of each collection event. To schedule an appointment for the next drop-off event on February 6, residents should call 808-768-3201 by 4:30 p.m. on January 29. Future collection events will be held on:
April 10, 2010
June 26, 2010
August 7, 2010
October 2, 2010
December 18, 2010
ENV can provide assistance in disposing of a wide variety of other household hazardous waste. For more information, please visit www.opala.org or call (808) 768-3201.
About Covanta
Covanta Energy is an internationally recognized owner and operator of large-scale Energy-from-Waste and renewable energy projects and a recipient of the Energy Innovator Award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Covanta’s 44 Energy-from-Waste facilities provide communities with an environmentally sound solution to their solid waste disposal needs by using that municipal solid waste to generate clean, renewable energy. Annually, Covanta’s modern Energy-from-Waste facilities safely and securely convert approximately 20 million tons of waste into more than 9 million megawatt hours of clean, renewable electricity and create more than 10 billion pounds of steam sold to a variety of industries. For more information, visit www.covantaholding.com.
About The Department of Environmental Services
ENV employees nearly 900 public workers whose mission is to work in unison with the residents of the City and County of Honolulu to ensure our island maintains a clean, safe environment through proper treatment and disposal of wastewater and handling solid waste. ENV works directly with businesses, individuals and sister agencies to foster a sense of joint accountability for our land, so it is protected and preserved for future generations.