1. (1) Except as otherwise provided in 310 CMR 77.05, all persons shall dispose of mercury-added thermostats by recycling or by disposing as hazardous waste or universal waste in compliance with 310 CMR 30.000: Hazardous Waste.
2. (2) Contractors who remove mercury-added thermostats from buildings shall deliver such thermostats to a collection site established by mercury-added thermostat manufacturers pursuant to 310 CMR 77.04.

3. (3) Persons who demolish buildings shall remove all mercury-added thermostats prior to building demolition and either:

   1. (a) Deliver such thermostats to collection sites established by mercury-added thermostat manufacturers pursuant to 310 CMR 77.04; or
   2. (b) Collect and manage mercury-added thermostats in accordance with applicable federal and state laws governing hazardous waste and universal waste, including 310 CMR 30.000: Hazardous Waste.
4. (4) Persons who remove mercury-added thermostats from a location that is participating in an energy efficiency or weatherization program supported or administered in whole or part by a department, agency, authority, or political subdivision of the Commonwealth or conducted as a result of any statutory requirement, including, but not limited to, demand-side management or least-cost procurement, shall deliver such thermostats to a collection site established by mercury-added thermostat manufacturers pursuant to 310 CMR 77.04.
5. (5) No municipal or private solid waste haulers or operators of solid waste disposal facilities shall knowingly dispose, or allow to be disposed, a mercury-added thermostat as solid waste, as defined in 310 CMR 19.006: Definitions, unless the mercury has been first removed by recycling or disposed as hazardous waste in accordance with 310 CMR 30.000: Hazardous Waste.

6. (6) Solid waste facility operators may knowingly accept or collect mercury-added thermostats for proper disposal, only if:

   1. (a) The device is segregated from solid waste and stored in an identified recycling container; and:

      1. 1. the facility participates in a mercury-added thermostat manufacturer’s collection program as a collection site; or
      2. 2. the facility has established a site to collect, manage, and dispose of mercury-added thermostats as hazardous waste or universal waste in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations, including 310 CMR 30.000: Hazardous Waste.

   2. (b) Solid waste facility operators will not be found in violation of 310 CMR 77.05, if they:

      1. 1. Make a good faith and consistent effort, as determined by the Department, to comply with 310 CMR 77.05(6);
      2. 2. Post, in a conspicuous location at the facility, a sign stating that mercury-added thermostats are not accepted at this facility; and
      3. 3. Notify, in writing, any person authorized to deposit solid waste at that facility that mercury-added thermostats are not accepted at this facility.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY

310 CMR 77.00: M.G.L. c. 21C, §§ 4 and 6, c. 21H, § 6J½ and 6N; and St. 2014, c. 196, § 5.