STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
686
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 7, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sen. AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
collection of mercury containing thermostats
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a
2 new section 27-2119 to read as follows:
3 § 27-2119. Mercury-containing thermostat collection program.
4 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section:
5 (a) "manufacturer" means the entity that owns a name brand of mercu-
6 ry-containing thermostats.
7 (b) "mercury-containing thermostat" means a product or device that
8 uses a mercury switch to sense and control room temperature through
9 communication with heating, ventilating, or air-conditioning equipment.
10 "Mercury-containing thermostat" includes thermostats used to sense and
11 control room temperature in residential, commercial, industrial and
12 other buildings but does not include a thermostat used to sense and
13 control temperature as part of a manufacturing process.
14 (c) "thermostat retailer" means any individual, corporation, partner-
15 ship, cooperative, association, firm, or other entity that sells thermo-
16 stats of any kind directly to homeowners or other nonprofessionals
17 through any selling or distribution mechanism, including but not limited
18 to sales using the internet or catalogues. A retailer may also be a
19 wholesaler if it meets the definition of a wholesaler.
20 (d) "thermostat wholesaler" means any individual, corporation, part-
21 nership, cooperative, association, firm, or other entity that is engaged
22 primarily in the distribution and wholesale of heating, ventilation, and
23 air-conditioning components to contractors who install heating, venti-
24 lation, and air-conditioning components.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00447-01-5
S. 686 2
1 2. Manufacturer responsibilities. (a) Each mercury-containing thermo-
2 stat manufacturer that has offered for final sale, sold at final sale,
3 or has distributed mercury-containing thermostats in New York shall,
4 individually or collectively, and not later than June first, two thou-
5 sand eighteen, submit a plan to the department for approval that
6 describes a collection program for out-of-service mercury-containing
7 thermostats from contractors, service technicians and homeowners. The
8 collection program shall not involve any direct cost to contractors,
9 service technicians or homeowners for participating in the program. The
10 collection program may include a financial incentive for the return of
11 each mercury-containing thermostat in the form of cash or coupons that
12 are redeemable by contractors and/or homeowners.
13 The collection program shall at a minimum include:
14 (i) an education and outreach program directed toward wholesalers,
15 retailers, contractors and homeowners. Such program shall be conducted
16 at no cost to such entities.
17 (ii) the distribution of containers for mercury-containing thermostat
18 collection. Collection methods may include, but are not limited to,
19 individual product mail return and/or multiple collection containers and
20 collection sites located at thermostat retailers, thermostat whole-
21 salers, municipalities for collection at household hazardous waste
22 collection facilities or household hazardous waste events.
23 (iii) measures to protect against the fraudulent return of mercury-
24 containing thermostats.
25 (iv) criteria to encourage the purchase of mercury-free programmable
26 thermostats qualified by the Energy Star program as replacements for
27 mercury-containing thermostats.
28 (v) criteria to ensure that the capture rate of out-of-service mercury
29 thermostats is maximized and the establishment of a collection goal.
30 (b) Not later than December first, two thousand eighteen, manufactur-
31 ers of mercury-containing thermostats shall implement the collection
32 program outlined in their plan.
33 (c) Beginning June first, two thousand nineteen, and annually there-
34 after, each manufacturer of mercury-containing thermostats shall submit
35 a report to the department that includes, at a minimum, the following
36 information:
37 (i) the number of mercury-containing thermostats collected and recy-
38 cled by the manufacturer during the previous calendar year.
39 (ii) the estimated total amount of mercury contained in the thermostat
40 components collected by that manufacturer in the previous calendar year.
41 (iii) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the manufacturer's
42 collection program and any financial incentives.
43 (iv) an accounting of the administrative costs incurred in the course
44 of administering the collection and recycling program and any financial
45 incentive plan.
46 3. Department responsibilities. (a) Within ninety days of receipt of a
47 complete manufacturer plan required by subdivision two of this section,
48 the department shall review and may grant, deny or approve with modifi-
49 cations. The department shall not approve a plan unless all elements of
50 subdivision two of this section are adequately addressed. In reviewing a
51 plan, the department may consider consistency of the plan with
52 collection in other states and consider consistency between manufacturer
53 programs. In reviewing plans, the department shall ensure that education
54 and outreach programs are uniform and consistent to ensure ease of
55 implementation.
S. 686 3
1 (b) The department shall maintain and post on its website a list of
2 entities and locations that serve as collection points for mercury-con-
3 taining thermostats, including but not limited to municipalities and
4 thermostat retailers and thermostat wholesalers.
5 (c) In conjunction with the educational and outreach programs imple-
6 mented by manufacturers, the department may conduct an education and
7 outreach program directed at wholesalers, retailers, contractors, and
8 homeowners to promote the collection of discarded mercury-containing
9 thermostats.
10 (d) By December first, two thousand nineteen, and annually thereafter,
11 the department shall post a report on its website detailing the
12 collection and recycling of mercury-containing thermostats in the state.
13 Such report shall include an evaluation of the effectiveness of the
14 thermostat collection and recycling programs, and information on actual
15 collection rates.
16 (e) By January fifteenth, two thousand nineteen, and annually there-
17 after, the department shall estimate the number of out-of-service ther-
18 mostats generated in New York on an annual basis. Beginning June first,
19 two thousand twenty, should collection efforts fail to result in the
20 collection and recycling of at least twenty-five percent of the out-of-
21 service mercury-containing thermostats in the state, the department may
22 require modification to manufacturers' collection plans to improve
23 collection rates including a requirement to implement a financial incen-
24 tive in the form of cash or coupons not less than five dollars or not
25 greater than ten dollars that are redeemable by contractors and/or home-
26 owners. Beginning June first, two thousand twenty-two, should
27 collection efforts fail to result in the collection and recycling of at
28 least sixty-five percent of the out-of-service mercury-containing ther-
29 mostats in the state, the department shall require modification to
30 manufacturers' collection plans to include a financial incentive in the
31 form of cash or coupons not less than five dollars or greater than ten
32 dollars that are redeemable by contractors and/or homeowners. Beginning
33 January fifteenth, two thousand twenty-five, the department may adopt
34 regulations setting forth future collection goals.
35 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
