Maine is a national leader in product stewardship laws that keep household products containing mercury out of the waste stream. Maine’s producer-funded recycling programs for thermostats and fluorescent lamps benefit small business owners and Maine residents, and they reduce the environmental and health costs of mercury exposure. By signing up as collection sites, local hardware stores and other retailers have seen increased business to their stores. In addition, town solid waste facilities are collecting more and more mercury-containing products, while saving Maine residents money because the recycling programs are funded by thermostat and lamp manufacturers. Product stewardship programs are one way to help reduce the levels of mercury in our environment. Mercury-containing products that are tossed in the trash end up in landfills or waste incinerators, where the mercury can end up in our land and water, contaminating people and wildlife. Maine’s programs have removed hundreds of pounds of mercury from the waste stream.