Lite Green by Sebrina Smith
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ELVS, it seems, is alive and well after all. But the ELVS I'm talking about is the "End Of Life Vehicle Solutions," not the King of Pop...no wait, that was Michael Jackson...Elvis was the King of Rock and Roll...or was he just The King?

Anyway...

This ELVS is a non-profit, nationwide program developed to recycle, reuse or safely dispose of the mercury-containing switches from end-of-life vehicles prior to crushing, shredding, or smelting them. ELVS is the creation of EQ, the Environmental Quality Company, which specializes in hazardous waste disposal.

The purpose of ELVS is to enhance auto recyclability for its participating vehicle manufacturers – like BMW, Ford, GM and others - to enhance vehicle recyclability. It accomplishes this by managing programs to collect and recycle mercury switches. ELVS is the single point of contact for mercury switch collection, and ELVS' efforts were built on already successful state programs in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Colorado and other states.

The pellet-sized mercury switches ELVS collects can be found in convenience lights in trunk and hood compartments and in anti-lock brakes of some vehicles built as late as the 2002. Proper disposal of these pellets protects the environment from the release of mercury. (EQ) provides auto dismantlers with storage buckets for automotive mercury switches. When dismantlers remove the switches they place the mercury pellets or assemblies in a provided bucket, then return the bucket to ELVS and receive a new collection bucket. All of this is free to the collection site.

Mercury is not only a local, but a global issue as well. It can travel thousands of miles in the atmosphere before settling somewhere. The EPA's Mercury Study Report to Congress estimates that 3 percent of the total global mercury burden in the environment originates from U.S. sources.

Cars are one of the major sources of mercury in consumer products. But because mercury has special properties that make it ideal for electrical conductivity, it has been widely used in other household appliances, too. Things like thermostats, washing machines, clothes irons, silent light switches, florescent lamps, LCD screens for laptop computers and televisions, and sump and bilge pumps.

While industrial use of mercury has dropped significantly over the years as substitutes have been found, mercury emissions from steel furnaces (the pathway by which auto switch mercury can enter the environment) contributes significantly to the total mercury released each year by the U.S.

The ELVS program encourages support and shared responsibility between car manufacturers and environmental agencies to collect and recycle mercury switches when a vehicle reaches the end of its service life.

ELVS is a great beginning to the reduction of the overall amount of mercury released into the environment. And it's a good addition to the reduce/reuse mentality of many automakers in general.

Auto recycling is itself a great story, and one that needs to be told. Of the approximately 10 million cars that are scrapped each year, nearly 95% are processed for recycling. And about 85% of each car's content can be reused.

The ELVS program, which recovered about 2141 lbs of mercury in 2008, is currently working in 25 states, and covers nearly 70% of all discarded vehicles in the U.S.

Long live the King!