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9:07 a.m. October 20, 2014
Knoxville company wins four environmental awards
KNOXVILLE — Last week, a Knoxville company earned four 2014 awards for environmental excellence from the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Pull-A-Part, a family owned business serving the do it-yourself, used auto parts market, captured and sent 19,139 mercury switches – more than 42 pounds of mercury – for recycling,. This effort prevented the pollution of 2.5 billion gallons of water, enough to fill a 78-acre lake 100 feet deep.
Mercury switches from old cars can release a significant amount of mercury into the environment if they’re not removed before the cars are crushed and shredded for recycling. Each switch, about the size of an acorn, contains enough mercury to contaminate 132,000 gallons of water above US EPA drinking water standards.
Pull-A-Part operates a network of 28 DIY used auto parts superstores in 12 states. Pull-A-Part has recycled 255,178 mercury switches, containing more than 561 pounds of mercury, from its 28 locations.
The Knoxville store is located at 5800 Rutledge Pike. Their website, www.pullapart.com, offers an online inventory database.
Published October 20, 2014
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