Allied Environmental Services Introduces Mercury Recycling Program in Ohio

Allied Environmental Services Inc., Lima, Ohio, has announced that it has introduced a mercury recycling program that the company says will serve all Ohio counties. The goal of this program, according to Allied, is to work with county emergency management agencies and health departments in the state to provide for safely recycling mercury.

“Fees will be kept to a minimum. We will charge a base rate to offset vehicle and fuel expenses and time spent traveling to collection sites to collect and process mercury-containing devices. The real goal is to safely collect the mercury and keep it out of the environment,” says Noah McManus, hazardous materials specialist for Allied Environmental Services.

The Allied program was developed in response to the similar program formerly operated by Bowling Green State University (BGSU) that was discontinued in January 2011. “The BGSU program was very successful and operated for over 10 years, recycling more than 25,000 pounds of mercury from sources throughout Ohio and EPA region 5,” says McManus.

“Allied felt it was imperative that a safe and affordable means of collecting unneeded mercury be provided to Ohio communities, so we decided to develop our own program,” McManus adds.

The program is intended to collect and recycle elemental mercury and mercury-containing devices that meet the description of a “universal waste.” Materials falling under this category include items such as thermostats, switches, thermometers, blood pressure meters and other sealed devices, as well as liquid mercury stored in jars and bottles.

For information on the program, contact Allied at (419) 227-4004.