Thermostat Recycling Corp. announced that it has recovered almost 6 tons of mercury since the group was founded in 2002.

“If the thermostats we collected in 2011 were stacked, their height would surpass the summit of Mount Everest," said Mark Tibbetts, the group’s executive director. "While there is still much work to be done, we are proud that our efforts, and those of the HVAC industry, have kept thousands of pounds of mercury from the nation’s landfills.”

Thermostat Recycling Corp. is an HVAC-industry funded nonprofit whose goal is to properly dispose of as many mercury thermostats as possible.

The group’s new report includes the Mercury Recovery Index, an assessment tool to track its efforts.

“Even after 10 years, TRC’s collection program continues to grow, evolve, and improve,” said Tibbetts. “Last year we sought innovative ways to tell our story and change recycling behavior. We will continue to use what we learn from our new Mercury Recovery Index to strengthen the program, and focus resources and effort needed to maximize results.”

The full report is available here .