The importance of disposing of your Thermostat properly

We are living in the age of progressively spreading smart technologies. From the things of personal use to the items of domestic and commercial use, everything is becoming smarter by upgrading itself to wifi support. The same is true for Thermostats. In the past few years, the use of Smart Thermostats has increased in Canada. More and more people are shifting to Smart Thermostats. While on one hand, this is good, this is also alarming because a large number of the conventional, old Thermostats are being disposed of and not everyone is disposing of them the right way. When these old Thermostats are thrown away in the garbage, the mercury tube in them bursts over time and the toxic element is spread in the environment. The phenomenon is hazardous for groud life but it is even more lethal for marine life.

How lethal mercury could be? 

Mercury is a neurotoxin and as it gets in contact with river or stream water, it turns into an absolute disaster. Usually, a mercury Thermostat contains somewhere around 2.5 to 10 grams of mercury. Just a minuscule amount of 1 gm of mercury can poison water for up to 80,000 square meters. This water then becomes undrinkable and in order to get an idea of how poisonous it gets, consider the fact that the fish from such water becomes unfit for consumption for up to one year. The water, if accidentally consumed can lead to severe consequences, the most probable of which is death.

Don't act mean. Think of others when you think of yourself 

When you think of upgrading your comfort by upgrading the Thermostat, don't forget to think about others. At the end of the day, we also have to live in the same environment that we pollute for others. So when you upgrade, seriously consider how the old unit will be disposed of. If it still works, consider gifting it to an underprivileged family so that they can improve their comfort. Or if the old Thermostat is in a condition which makes is unfit for further use, your job to find out the right way of disposal begins. And we are helping you out by suggesting some available solutions.

The TRP program in Canada

Recognizing the hazardous impacts of mercury on the environment, Canada's HRAI institute has launched ''Thermostat Recovery Program''. This program is dedicated to recycling and disposing of mercury thermostats safely in order to ensure that the mercury content does not get in contact with the environment. By April 2019, the TRP has safely recycled or disposed of up to 166,752 thermostats and the counter is still running. In order to give the Thermostat to the TRP, the nearest drop off location can be checked over HRIA's website; https://www.hrai.ca/participate. The Thermostat can be dropped there for recycling. Or alternatively, a ''send it back'' request can be sent to the TRP. This brings you a pre-paid personal recycling container so that you could safely recycle the Thermostat.
Although there is no law so far that punishes unsafe disposal of Thermostats, homeowners need to take personal responsibility and you, the reader, need to dispose of your mercury Thermostat with absolute safety; for yourself, for the environment.