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Mercury Diversion and Recycling
As part of Massachusetts’s Zero Mercury Strategy, the SEMASS Resource Recovery Facility has developed a program to promote the identification, diversion, and recycling of mercury and mercury-containing products from the solid waste stream prior to receipt at our facilities.
SEMASS’s Material Separation Plan (MSP) program for the diversion of mercury was initiated in 2001. The purpose of the MSP program is to identify products with Since then, the plan has been evaluated each year, been updated a number of times and has evolved to target varied sources of mercury that are found in every day products seen in homes, businesses and public buildings. As a result of stricter air pollution controls and the Material Separation Plans, the U.S. EPA estimates that mercury emissions have been reduced by 91%.
Covanta SEMASS, L.P. employs a full-time MSP Program Coordinator, Patti Howard, who works with the SEMASS contract-communities as well as communities with significant portions of commercial trash that send their waste to Covanta SEMASS or other Covanta facilities.
Each year, Covanta SEMASS, in conjunction with our community Recycling Organizations, volunteers and businesses, collects identify, collect, and recycle thousands of mercury containing devices. An example of a typical year (2006) is as follows:
- Fluorescent Lamps
- 299,028 linear feet of straight lamps
- 173 Circular lamps
- 3,738 U-tube lamps
- 863 compact lamps
- 185 high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps
- 1,865 Glass Fever & Laboratory Thermometers
- 119 Mercury blood pressure cuffs (sphygmomanometers)
- 2,354 Thermostats
- 1,194 electrical switches
- 331 button cell batteries
- 7 large barometers
- 392 lbs of elemental liquid mercury
Covanta SEMASS’s Material Separation Plan has a number of tasks to assist our communities and their associated businesses identify, divert and recycle mercury-containing materials from the potential solid waste stream.
1.0 IWSA Education and Outreach
This component is designed to educate the public through radio advertisements, website information, media campaigns, printed media, and presentations, about mercury-containing products and how to properly dispose of them. This task is coordinated with all municipal waste combustors (Covanta Energy and Wheelabrator) via the Integrated Waste Services Association (IWSA).2.0 Local Education and Outreach
This task includes varied activities for education and outreach including communities, schools, businesses, as well as training on mercury identification, handling and hazards awareness.3. 0 Mercury Reduction / Recycling Programs
This task includes a number of targeted activities to handle, separate and properly recycle mercury-containing devices. These include: medical & dental facilities, thermometer exchange programs, community reimbursement and support for their own mercury and household hazardous waste recycling programs, commercial and residential thermostat exchanges, school clean-outs, providing universal waste storage facilities, boatyards, marinas & marine facilities, and business reimbursements / assistance.
Visit www.keepmercuryfromrising.org, a Covanta-supported website sponsored by the Integrated Waste Services Association (IWSA) for more information on which products contain mercury and where you can recycle your mercury product.
Visit the MA DEP website, www.mass.gov/dep/recycle/solid/mspcomp.htm to review our complete material separation plan for 2007-2008. Our annual reports are also available at that site if you would like to get more information on the success of the program.
Patti Howard, Material Separation Plan (MSP) Program Coordinator
Covanta SEMASS, L.P.
141 Cranberry Highway
W. Wareham, MA 02576
(508) 291-4427
phoward@covantaenergy.com