Thermostat Recycling Corporation

What Thermostat Recycling Corporation does

Thermostat Recycling Corporation (TRC) is a private non-profit 501(c)(6) stewardship organization founded in 1998 by Honeywell, White-Rodgers, and General Electric to operate the only nationwide mercury thermostat take-back program in the United States. The organization collects and recycles mercury-containing thermostats through a network of over 3,600 collection sites across 48 states, providing large green bins for high-volume partners and small one-gallon pails for low-volume sites, with all shipping and processing costs covered internally. Since inception, TRC has collected more than 3 million thermostats and diverted over 14 tons of mercury from the waste stream; the program is free to all end-users including homeowners, contractors, and collection partners.

The business model is funded entirely by 28-30 thermostat manufacturers through annual participation fees assessed proportionally to prior-year collections of member-branded devices; TRC charges no fees to contractors, homeowners, or participating collection locations. Distribution is channel-based through HVAC wholesale distributors (HARDI members including Aireco, Ferguson, Johnstone Supply, Lennox, United Refrigeration), thermostat retailers, municipal household hazardous waste facilities, and HVAC contracting businesses. Supporting products include a zip-code Collection Location Finder, state-level data analytics dashboards, bilingual promotional toolkits, and annual initiatives such as the Banish Mercury Off the Planet (BMOP) competition and Recycle Your Mercury Thermostat Day (October 24).

The addressable inventory is structurally finite: manufacturing of mercury thermostats ended between 2004-2007, and annual collections declined 13% in 2025 (to 49,155 thermostats from 56,513 in 2024) while mercury recovered declined 17.4% (to 438.4 pounds from 531.1 pounds). TRC is governed by a board drawn from founding and member manufacturers (Honeywell/Resideo, Lennox, Copeland) and operates from Washington, D.C. with 1-10 employees under Executive Director Danielle Myers, who assumed the role in February 2023. The organization is not backed by venture capital or private equity and has no parent company.

Name

Thermostat Recycling Corporation

Legal name

Thermostat Recycling Corporation

Website

https://thermostat-recycle.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Thermostat Recycling Corporation (TRC) is a non-profit stewardship organization operating the only nationwide U.S. mercury thermostat take-back program, funded by 28-30 manufacturers and serving homeowners, contractors, and municipalities through 3,600+ free collection sites.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mercury Thermostat Recycling Services

NAICS

Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (562211), Waste Collection (56211)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Universal Waste Management (Batteries, Lamps, Mercury-Containing) (BPALAHAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Consumer Electronics Recycling (TVs, AV, Small Electronics) (BPALAIAH), E-waste & Universal Waste Collection/Transfer (Electronics, Lamps, Batteries) (EUAIABAG)

Keywords

• Mercury thermostat recycling
• Hazardous waste collection
• HVAC stewardship program
• Mercury diversion services
• Collection site network

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Manufacturer Participation Fees: Manufacturers that historically branded and sold mercury thermostats in the U.S. fund the program through annual participation fees. TRC assesses fees on a proportional basis based on the prior year's collections of member-branded thermostats. This is a membership/stewardship fee model where 28-30 manufacturers contribute to sustain the recycling infrastructure.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Thermostat Recycling Corporation operates a nationwide mercury thermostat take-back and recycling program funded by thermostat manufacturers. The organization provides free collection containers, covers shipping and processing costs, and partners with HVAC wholesale distributors, retailers, municipal household hazardous waste facilities, and HVAC contractors across 48 states to divert mercury from the waste stream.

Product overview

Thermostat Recycling Corporation (TRC) operates a single, unified mercury thermostat recycling program rather than a software platform. The core offering is a nationwide take-back program that collects and properly disposes of mercury-containing thermostats through a network of over 3,600 collection locations across 48 states. Collection is facilitated through large green bins and small one-gallon pails distributed to participating HVAC wholesalers, retailers, and household hazardous waste facilities. Supporting the collection program are a Collection Location Finder tool, State Reports and Data Analytics dashboard, Promotional Toolkit for collection partners, and annual initiatives including the Banish Mercury Off the Planet (BMOP) contest and Recycle Your Mercury Thermostat Day awareness campaign on October 24th.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mercury Thermostat Recycling Program
• Large Green Collection Bins
• Small One-Gallon Pails
• Promotional Toolkit
• Collection Location Finder
• State Reports and Data Analytics

Quantifiable outcome

• 3 million+ thermostats collected
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHARDI is the primary industry association for HVACR distributors. TRC partners with HARDI to run the annual Banish Mercury Off the Planet (BMOP) competition among HARDI member companies. HARDI members collectively recycled 150 pounds of mercury in 2024 through the TRC program.
• Honeywell/ResideocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHoneywell (now Resideo) was one of the founding members of TRC in 1998 along with White-Rodgers and General Electric. Resideo continues to participate through board representation (Arnie Meyer serves as Board Chair).
• White-RodgerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWhite-Rodgers was one of the three founding members of TRC in 1998.
• General ElectriccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeneral Electric was one of the three founding members of TRC in 1998.
• Lennox InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLennox International participates through board representation (Robert Johnson serves as Treasurer) and is a member company supporting the program.
• CopelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCopeland participates through board representation (Brendan O'Toole serves as Vice Chair) and is a member company supporting the program.
• FedExsupportingOthersFedEx is the carrier used for shipping TRC collection containers. In September 2025, FedEx amended its decision to continue supporting parcel shipments for universal waste including mercury thermostats.
• HVAC Wholesale Distributors NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork of 3,600+ HVAC wholesale distributors including Aireco, APR Supply, Coastal Plumbing Supply, Coburn Supply, Ferguson, G.O. Thermal, Gustave Larson, Harry Alter, Insco, Johnson Supply, Johnstone Supply, NB Handy, R.E. Michel, Refrigeration Sales Corp., S.G. Torrice, United Refrigeration, U.S. Air Conditioning Distributors, WA Roosevelt, and others serve as collection locations.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Waste Management Inc. The largest waste services provider in North America, operating recycling and hazardous waste programs including HHW collection facilities. Comparable as a large-scale operator that many of TRC's municipal HHW collection partners are part of.
• Heritage Environmental Services: A leading North American hazardous waste services provider handling treatment, disposal, and recycling of industrial and universal waste. Comparable as a downstream processor for mercury-containing materials that TRC ultimately channels to.
• Clean Harbors: The largest provider of environmental and industrial services in North America, including hazardous waste management, recycling, and disposal. Comparable as a major incumbent that handles mercury and other hazardous waste streams across commercial and industrial channels.
• Stericycle: A major regulated waste management company handling hazardous and universal waste streams including mercury-containing devices. Comparable as a scaled hazardous waste operator providing disposal services that could compete with or supplement TRC's downstream processing needs.
• Veolia North America (Hazardous Waste): A global environmental services company with a large hazardous waste treatment and disposal operation in North America. Comparable as a scaled downstream processor and competing universal/hazardous waste collection channel.

Direct peers

• Call2Recycle: The leading North American stewardship program for rechargeable batteries and cellphones, operating a producer-funded collection network similar to TRC. Directly comparable as an EPR-style stewardship organization funded by manufacturers and serving end-users at no cost.
• Thermostat Recovery Program (Canada): The Canadian equivalent of TRC - a stewardship program collecting mercury thermostats. TRC's own website refers Canadian users to this program, making it the closest geographic and functional peer to TRC's mercury thermostat recycling model.
• Electronic Recyclers International (ERI): The largest e-waste recycler in the US, providing certified e-waste collection, processing, and recycling services. Comparable as a direct e-waste recycling operator competing for the same end-of-life electronics disposal volume, though TRC is single-stream focused.

Emerging players

• e-Stewards Initiative: A certification program for responsible e-waste recyclers, particularly focused on ensuring hazardous materials like mercury do not enter developing-country waste streams. Comparable as a parallel standards organization relevant to TRC's e-waste handling practices.
• R2 Solutions: The standards body behind the R2 (Responsible Recycling) certification for e-waste recyclers. Comparable as an industry-standard organization defining the responsible e-waste recycling practices that TRC and its downstream processors must align with.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tstat_recycle

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Thermostat Recycling Corporation