Media Contact: Anne Perry Moore, 218-723-2356
Technical Contact: Joel Peterson, 218-723-4898 Toll-free (all staff, voice and TTY): 800-657-3864
Duluth, Minn. — Lake Superior basin residents in Two Harbors can exchange one mercury-bearing home thermostat for a free, non-mercury alternative and may also exchange a burn barrel for a rain barrel on Wednesday, Aug. 31. Duluth-area basin residents can participate in the home thermostat exchange in September, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) announced today.
Two Harbors-area residents may bring a thermostat and burn barrel (with ashes, if they have them) to the Two Harbors recycling shed, Recycling Center Drive, between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 31. Duluth-area residents can bring an old thermostat to the MPCA's office at 400 South Lake Avenue, Suite 400, during normal office hours from Sept. 6 to Sept. 15, 2005. The exchange program has a limit of one thermostat or burn barrel per household, and barrel exchanges are limited to the first 28 participants.
People exchanging burn barrels will also be asked to sign a "no trash burning" pledge. All participants will be asked to verify they live within the Lake Superior watershed boundary. In addition to reducing the amount of mercury in our environment, the digital, non-mercury thermostats have programmable features that save homeowners money and energy.
Burn barrels have been illegal for most Minnesotans since 1969 and are a localized source of toxic chemicals that can cause respiratory and other health problems. One pound of trash burned in a burn barrel creates more dioxin, a known carcinogen, than an entire ton burned at a modern municipal incinerator. Questions about the MPCA-funded thermostat exchanges may be directed to Joel Peterson, MPCA Coastal Zone coordinator, at 218-723-4898 or toll-free at 800-657-3864.
