Turn down the furnace and water heater, install energy-efficient lighting, and caulk and weatherstrip your home or business. The Department of Commerce has a wealth of energy conservation tips on their Web site. One goal of the Lake Superior Binational Program is virtual elimination of mercury and other persistent, toxic substances. It also operates a solid waste transfer station, incinerator, yard waste-composting and household hazardous waste facilities, and an industrial landfill. Consider the effort to eliminate mercury from dental office wastes.
Dentists often use a mercury amalgam for fillings.
Two years after the manual was distributed to all dentists in the area, mercury in the effluent from the same building was reduced to 0.086 grams per dentist per day. Later audits found amalgam waste still being placed in solid or medical waste containers. Since waste is routinely incinerated, mercury was finding its way into the air. They also provide ongoing pollution-prevention education, working with the state and national dental associations. Last summer, Duluth passed the first ordinance in the nation banning the retail sale of mercury fever thermometers.