More than 250 million mercury auto switches were installed in cars made before 2003. When switches are not removed before old vehicles are shredded or crushed for scrap, mercury is released into the environment. Mercury is a neurotoxin that harms infants and children: Each year in the United States, as many as 460,000 babies are born impaired by mercury exposure .
How can we reclaim more mercury auto switches to protect people and the environment? Extended producer responsibility. Only states with EPR laws for auto switches have assurance that the National Vehicle Mercury Switch Program (NVMSP) will continue to fund collection systems for mercury auto switches. That’s because the voluntary agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which was established in 2006 and originally set to expire in 2017, is now scheduled to expire in 2027. Although the Steel Manufacturers Association, ELVSC (End of Life Vehicle Solutions Corporation), Automotive Recyclers Association, and others have agreed to extend the program, there is no certainty about how long it will continue in states with no EPR laws. And, financial incentives to return switches have expired in all states that failed to build these into an EPR law.
Financial incentives are critical for reclaiming mercury auto switches. PSI’s 2014 pilot program, conducted in partnership with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and with funding from the U.S. EPA, clearly demonstrated that even a modest incentive could increase collection for a switch by 500% over a year, and that a larger, one-time incentive could spur formerly non-compliant auto yards to collect and send in switches for safe disposal.
What can you do? Tell your representatives that you support mercury auto switch EPR legislation. Then, learn where to safely dispose of mercury auto switches in your community.
If you’re a PSI Member or Partner, search our Resource Library for information on mercury auto switch stewardship and our Legislation Library for a history of mercury auto switch EPR bills and laws in the U.S.