What is dental amalgam?
Dental amalgam was previously used extensively in dental fillings and contains 50% mercury. While dentists have now adopted alternative techniques that don’t contain mercury for most of their dental restoration work, such as resin composite, many old fillings that are removed in routine dental treatment contain dental amalgam and these are generally flushed down the drain.
Why is dental amalgam bad for the environment?
When dental amalgam is flushed into the environment via wastewater, the mercury is converted into organic mercury and becomes toxic.
What is an amalgam separator?
An amalgam separator is best management practice for handling and disposing of dental amalgam. The Metasys Amalgam Separator Eco II ensures that 99.3% of all amalgam waste is collected before entering our wastewater, which is then recycled in a processing plant for reuse.
Is it compulsory to install an amalgam separator?
No – in Australia, the use of amalgam separators is entirely voluntary, although they are mandatory in some countries and states around the world. If all dental practices in Australia installed amalgam traps and separators, it is estimated that 1,300 kilograms of mercury would be collected each year (https://www.adia.org.au/news/10jan2017).
For more information about this product, please visit: http://www.metasys.com/en/dental_equipment/e27c6b10/0/amalgam_separators