Amalgam Recycling
Amalgon®
Safely Remove Your Amalgam
If you remove amalgam, you need Amalgon Amalgam Recycling. Dental amalgam is comprised of nearly 50% Mercury, along with silver and other metals. Dental amalgam is hazardous and must be disposed of correctly, not in the regular trash or rinsed “down the drain.”
How It Works
Fill
You can fill with Chair-side traps, Vacuum filters, Screens, Capsules, Amalgam-contaminated teeth, and Scrap amalgam.
No Sorting Required!
Package
Once the container is full, or within 12 months, place in provided plastic bag and close with tie. Place the bag into the Return Shipping Box and attach pre-paid UPS label.
Ship
Give to your UPS delivery driver. It’s that easy!
Available Sizes
Product Sizes & Specs
Most Popular Size: Amalgon 1
Size: 1 Gallons
Dimensions: 7″w x 10″h x 7″d
No sorting required! Contact and non-contact amalgam in the same container.
Amalgon 5
Size: 5 Gallons
Dimensions: 8.5″w x 15″h x 10.5″d
No sorting required! Contact and non-contact amalgam in the same container.
Protect the Environment
EPA studies show nearly 50% of mercury in public wastewater treatment systems comes from dental offices. If you remove or place amalgam, your office generates hazardous, amalgam-contaminated waste that must be disposed of separate from your regular waste.
Fortunately, amalgam-contaminated items are a “Universal Waste,” meaning they can be recycled without a permit, avoiding the hassle and expense of registering as a hazardous waste generator and hiring an expensive hazardous waste pick-up company.
Key Benefits
Amalgon is the only amalgam recycling product that allows you to place both contact and non-contact amalgam in the same container:
Avoid the Hassle and Fines of Improper Disposal
Federal regulations prohibit improper disposal of hazardous waste. Not following these regulations can result in fines and other penalties. In addition to Federal regulations, several states have passed rules concerning the proper management of amalgam-contaminated items.
Fines for improper disposal of hazardous waste are expensive and easy to avoid when you use Amalgon to recycle amalgam-contaminated items.
Federal regulation, 40 CFR 273.15, prohibits accumulation of Universal Waste for more than 12 months. This means when you place the first item in the Amalgon container you have 12 months to continue to accumulate amalgam contaminated items, then return Amalgon, whether full or not, using the pre-paid UPS shipping label to our recycler.
Frequently Asked Questions about Amalgon
- Do I need Amalgon?
Every office that removes or places amalgam fillings needs Amalgon. In other words, virtually EVERY dental office needs Amalgon. If you are disposing of or rinsing your chair-side vacuum traps out in the sink or trash you are improperly disposing of hazardous waste. With Amalgon, hazardous mercury, is recycled. Use Amalgon to dispose of Chair-side traps, vacuum filters, screens, capsules, amalgam-contaminated teeth and scrap amalgam. Click here: ADA’s Statement on Dental Amalgam
- How does Amalgon work?
Please click the image above to watch our video
Amalgon amalgam recycling product is used to properly manage amalgam-contaminated items. Simply fill the container with amalgam-contaminated waste. Attach the pre-paid shipping label and give your full container to the UPS driver or drop it off at a UPS drop-off location. Chair-side vacuum traps should be placed in the Amalgon container. Chair-side vacuum traps should NOT be put in the regular trash, a red bag or rinsed in the sink. Amalgon will be shipped to our EPA licensed processing facility. The amalgam contaminated items are processed. The mercury is separated and recycled.
- Do we need to separate Contact and Non-Contact amalgam when using Amalgon?
Amalgon is unique, there is no sorting required, both contact and non-contact amalgam may be placed in your Amalgon container.
You save time by not having to separate contact and non-contact amalgam contaminated items. You also save valuable space by eliminating the need for two separate storage containers, one for contact and another for non-contact amalgam contaminated items.
Order Amalgon from your supply company and take advantage of this significant difference today!
- What type of amalgam waste can be placed in the Amalgon container?
Only amalgam and amalgam-contaminated items may be placed in the Amalgon container. This includes chair-side traps, vacuum filters, screens, capsules, amalgam-contaminated teeth and scrap amalgam. Elemental Mercury may not be placed in the Amalgon container. Call us for information about recycling bulk mercury.
- What kind of amalgam contaminated waste can be recycled using Amalgon?
The following amalgam contaminated waste items may be returned for processing: chair-side traps, vacuum pump filters, screens, amalgam capsules, non-infectious teeth with amalgam restorations and scrap amalgam. It is not necessary to sort or separate Contact from Non-Contact amalgam before placing these items in the Amalgon container.
- Do you accept whole filters from the vacuum pump for recycling in the Amalgon container?
Yes. Use Amalgon to properly dispose of vacuum pump filters, chair-side traps, screens, teeth, and capsules.
- Are we required to disinfect amalgam waste before placing it in the Amalgon container?
Amalgam contaminated items like chair-side traps, screens and filters should be placed in the Amalgon container after you have performed routine vacuum line cleaning/maintenance per vacuum system manufacturers specifications. Teeth placed in the Amalgon container must be non-infectious. As long as no ‘tissue’ is attached to the tooth, it’s generally accepted the tooth is non-infectious.
- What is the correct way to dispose of Chair-side traps?
Follow these directions to correctly dispose of chair-side traps using Amalgon.
- Remove disposable chair-side evacuation trap and place directly into the Amalgon amalgam recycling container.
- Do not clean disposable traps under running water or discharge amalgam into the waste water system.
- Do not put evacuation traps or its contents into sharps container, red biomedical bag, regular trash or rinse in the sink, sending hazardous contents down the drain.
- I have an amalgam separator, do I also need Amalgon, and what do I do with my used separator filter/cartridge?
An amalgam separator is used in conjunction with Amalgon, so YES you need Amalgon. The separator filter/cartridge catches the invisible amalgam dust in your vacuum line effluent preventing mercury pollution from entering our drinking water. The amalgam separator filter/cartridge must be exchanged per manufacturer directions. Once exchanged the used filter/cartridge must be returned to the amalgam separator manufacturer. Typically the separator manufacturer will send you a new filter/cartridge upon receipt of your spent filter/cartridge. Use Amalgon for contact and non-contact amalgam, your chair side traps, vacuum pump filters, screens, capsules, amalgam-contaminated teeth and scrap amalgam. By using an amalgam separator, and regularly changing the filter, in conjunction with Amalgon you eliminate the possibility of mercury entering our environment.
- Does your company have applicable license and proper forms required by the EPA and State agencies for metals recovery?Yes, our recycling site retains all licenses and permits for metals recovery. Upon request, a certificate of recycling can be provided. Retain the tear-off portion of the UPS label as a tracking document and proof of recycling; and use our Disposal and Recycling Log to document recycling activities. Click here to download a copy for your records: Disposal & Recycling Log
- Do you pay for clean non-contact (scrap) amalgam?No, we do not pay for scrap amalgam. For the convenience of our customers we provide a mixed amalgam waste recycling solution in our Amalgon product. The cost of sorting and removing amalgam from filters, traps, screens and teeth far exceeds the value of recovered mercury.