Amalgam Recovery Program

In an innovative partnership, the Minnesota Dental Association (MDA) and the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) launched a program in 2001 to help keep mercury-containing dental materials out of wastewater.  

Through the Voluntary Dental Office Amalgam Separator Program, the MDA has encouraged dentists to install special removal equipment into their clinic wastewater system. In return, for the foreseeable future, participating dentists within the Twin Cities metropolitan area will be exempt from regulatory action by MCES.  The Metropolitan Council has regulatory authority over waste water generated by dental offices based in the Twin Cities that enters the public sewer system.  Each county has authority over hazardous waste generated by a clinic that is disposed of in other manners.

This program gives dentists throughout the entire state a unique opportunity to demonstrate their concern for the environment, under their own initiative. The MDA has and will continue to devote time and resources to help dental offices install amalgam separators and dispose of amalgam properly.

The program brochure and list of approved separators are available by request or you may download them by following the links below.