Automotive switches

Get the switch out!

The Virginia DEQ has partnered with the Virginia Automotive Recyclers Association (press release) to sponsor the removal of mercury-containing switches from junked cars. When not removed prior to scrapping, the mercury in these switches can contaminate scrap; and it is subsequently released to the environment when being melted into new steel.

Pre-Paid Shipping Kit

The DEQ has negotiated with AERC Recycling Solutions in Ashland, Virginia to provide a "Switch Collection / Shipping Kit" to any salvage operator that volunteers to remove the switches during disassembly. The kit will hold up to 450 mercury switches, and when full, can be shipped to AERC's facility in Pennsylvania for recycling.

The VARA is promoting the pilot project, and the kits will be provided free-of-charge to the first 50 facilities that sign up. (click here to download the newsletter) To sign up, please contact the VARA.

There is approximately 1 gram of mercury in the switches found in many older model cars. This mercury often finds its way to wastewater and air emissions once cars are dismantled and then "chopped" for scrap before being sent to steel mills. The steel industry is currently under a good deal of environmental scrutiny because the mercury is vaporized in steel manufacturing. These switches, especially the "tilt" switches used in hoods and trunks of cars, can be removed fairly easily. The P2 or source reduction solution to this problem is to not use mercury switches, and most car makers have now stopped using them. However, the majority of older cars that are being scrapped still have them, and the automotive dismantlers typically have not wanted to remove them because of the extra labor required.

Various states have programs in place that promote the removal of the switches, and several states are using a compliance/enforcement function to require the removal prior to crushing. The Virginia DEQ hopes that this partnership will preclude any such regulatory actions in the future, and that removal of the switches will just become a regular “best management practice” for the auto recycling industry.

This VADEQ initiative actually began in the Spring of 2004. DEQ proposed a “pilot project” to remove mercury switches with Auto Recyclers, LLC of Winchester, Virginia. Owners Paul and Marla Palma tout themselves as “Virginia first all-indoor auto recycling facility”, and they are dedicated to recycling every possible piece of the automobile. Paul and Marla have a history of working in the salvage industry, and he understands the environmental problems that can be created by poor management of automotive fluids and materials. Auto Recyclers has volunteered to remove the mercury switches and to assess the process. Auto Recyclers staff has been removing and collecting the switches for nearly 6 months. AERC Recycling Solutions is also a sponsor of the pilot project and has agreed to process the switches at no charge.

As part of their commitment to the environment, Auto Recyclers, LLC has joined Businesses for the Bay; and they have been recognized as part of the US EPA’s National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP). NPEP is a high-level recognition program for companies that volunteer to reduce toxics, such as mercury, that are on the EPA’s list of Priority Chemicals. For more on NPEP, please see www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/minimize/join.htm.

For more on what EPA and other states are doing, see www.epa.gov/region5/air/mercury/autoswitch.htm#remove.

** “Switch Out” is the name of a dismantlers’ guide developed by Clean Air Foundation in Canada. Virginia DEQ has used this guide in the development of its own materials.