Automakers’ Mercury Vehicle Switch Recycling Plan Falls Short;
State Requires Financial Incentives for Recyclers

A corporation created by vehicle manufacturers to implement a mercury switch collection and recycling program in Massachusetts has fallen far short of state Mercury Management Act goals, the Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) announced today. 

The agency’s determination means automakers – either on their own or through the corporation, End of Life Vehicle Solutions (ELVS) – will now need to offer vehicle recyclers and scrap yards across the state specific financial incentives for removing mercury switches from cars, trucks and SUVs being taken off the road permanently.

“Vehicle manufacturers prepared the mercury switch collection and recycling blueprint the statute required, but so far that plan has not come close to achieving the target capture rate,” said MassDEP Commissioner Laurie Burt. 

For 2007, MassDEP regulations implementing the Mercury Management Act required automakers to collect and recycle at least half of the 92,500 switches that ELVS estimated would be present in vehicles scrapped in Massachusetts during the year. But in their annual certifications, vehicle manufacturers reported collecting just over 2,000 switches from recycling and scrap companies, or little more than 2 percent.
     
Under the regulations, a capture rate of anything less than 50 percent meant automakers would be required to submit a new collection and recycling plan to the state – which MassDEP has given them 30 days to do – and to include in that plan a provision for paying vehicle recyclers and scrap yards $3 apiece for the mercury-added switches they remove from end-of-life vehicles. 
     
“Through these rules, we are holding manufacturers accountable for safely recovering and recycling toxic components when products they made reach the end of their useful lives,” Burt said. “For automakers, mercury switch collection and recycling are simply part of the ‘producer responsibility’ cycle.” 
     
Mercury is toxic to people and wildlife. When products containing mercury are broken or thrown in the trash, outdoors, or down the drain, the naturally occurring heavy metal cycles through the environment, polluting air and water, and accumulating in fish.

Additional information about mercury vehicle switch collection and recycling is available at: www.mass.gov/dep/recycle/hazardous/autobiz.htm

Companies participating in ELVS are:
BMW of North America, LLC; Chrysler LLC; Daimler EAPP Americas; Ford Motor Company; General Motors Corporation; International Truck & Engine; Mack Trucks, Inc.; Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc.; Nissan North America, Inc.; PACCAR, Inc.; Porsche Cars North America, Inc.; Subaru of America, Inc.; Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc.; Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.; Volvo Trucks North America

MassDEP is responsible for ensuring clean air and water, safe management and recycling of solid and hazardous wastes, timely cleanup of hazardous waste sites and spills, and the preservation of wetlands and coastal resources.

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