Up a Level:

• Pilot Projects and Initiatives

Related Areas:

• Project 1: HVAC Wholesaler Chains
• Project 2: HVAC Contractor Expansion
• Project 3: HVAC Contractor Incentive Pilot
• Project 4/5: HHW Collection Pilot 
• Project 6: Maine Contractor Incentive
• Project 7: Maine Homeowner Incentive
• Project 8: Model Program

Project 7 - Maine Homeowner Financial Incentive
 
In April 2006, Maine Governor John Baldacci signed into law a legislative agreement that PSI mediated among thermostat manufacturers, environmental groups, and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (ME DEP).  The law is the nation’s first financial incentive to recycle building thermostats that contain mercury, and the first law to require thermostat collection for do-it-yourselfers.  Key elements also include aggressive performance goals and a requirement that all manufacturers offer a thermostat recycling program.
 
This PSI project will explore the effectiveness of a financial incentive for the return of mercury thermostats in the homeowner market through two channels – collection at local HHW or Universal Waste Facilities, and a homeowner mail-back program.  The financial incentive will be added to a new program in Maine, as mandated by a recent Maine law, where Maine’s Universal Waste shed collection system will become part of the Thermostat Recycling Corporation (TRC)

program. Previously, local governments collecting thermostats had to manage and pay for all thermostats they collected.
 
The homeowner market is substantially different from the wholesaler/contractor market. While contractors typically purchase numerous thermostats at a time, homeowners will buy one thermostat and install it soon after purchase. PSI will explore the provision of a rebate coupon, redeemable for cash, which could be provided to homeowners who return a thermostat to the HHW facility, or who mail one in from home. This project will test a financial incentive for homeowners, becoming the first program to test such a system in the country.
 
PSI Role
 
Under the Maine thermostat law, all manufacturers must “provide a financial incentive with a minimum value of $5 for the return of each mercury-added thermostat by a homeowner to an established recycling collection point." Starting in January 2007, PSI will participate in a ME DEP stakeholder group that will determine the most effective way to implement the law’s homeowner incentive.  
 
PSI will assist in program design, implementation, and evaluation.
 
1) Design: PSI will conduct outreach among its existing stakeholder contacts to promote this project. Following development of a project contact database, PSI will facilitate four stakeholder conference calls to discuss the issue, propose options, and design a financial incentive add-on component to the HHW/UW shed thermostat collections, as well as design the mail-back pilot project. As part of the project design, PSI will outline the data needs for the project and design the database to collect project information. PSI will facilitate the development of educational/promotional materials. PSI will conduct two half-day stakeholder meetings to obtain feedback on the project design elements.
 
2) Implementation: PSI will develop a joint press release with stakeholders to announce the pilot mail-back program, along with the details of the municipal-based financial incentive. PSI will conduct 4 conference calls over the 8-month implementation period to gauge progress, identify problems, and brainstorm joint solutions.
 
3) Evaluation: To evaluate the municipal-based financial incentive, PSI will conduct 15 stakeholder interviews and conduct two stakeholder conference calls to design the evaluation. PSI will analyze data collected, and prepare a draft and final report based on stakeholder feedback received during a half-day meeting.

Current Progress

Design of the Homeowner Incentive Program will begin in January 2007.  The ME DEP is tasked with developing a two-phased plan, through a stakeholder process, that specifies the incentive to be paid to homeowners by August 1, 2007.  By March 15, 2007 and annually thereafter, ME DEP is required to submit a report on the collection and recycling of mercury-added thermostats in the State to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over natural resources matters.  The report due in 2007 must include a description and discussion of the financial incentive plan and recommendations for any statutory changes concerning the collection and recycling of mercury-added thermostats.  

Project Documents

ME Thermostat Law Financing Fact Sheet