How should dental facilities store and then dispose of leftover encapsulated mercury and mercury amalgam waste?
All elemental mercury, as well as any contact and non-contact amalgam, should be collected and stored in an air-tight, leak-proof and structurally sound container with a label stating the type of the dental amalgam waste contained and the date the waste was initially placed in the container. The containers holding the dental amalgam waste must be tightly closed except when adding or removing dental amalgam waste. A container cannot be stored by the dental facility for more than one year from the date the waste was initially placed in the container. All dental amalgam waste and elemental mercury generated by the dental facility must be sent for mercury recycling. A few communities in New York State allow dentists to bring mercury waste to their household hazardous waste facilities. Dentists should contact their local solid waste management authority or officials for more information. Most dentists will hire mercury waste recycling companies to regularly take their waste. These recycling
