OVERVIEW
Environmental organizations can play a crucial role in promoting the
recycling of lamps that contain mercury. Through your traditional role
in education and outreach you can be very helpful in communicating to
the public the dangers and health impacts of mercury pollution and the
need to participate in lamp recycling programs.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL
GROUPS
Mercury is an essential component of most energy-efficient lamps.
Fluorescent light bulbs (including compact fluorescent) and high intensity
discharge (HID) lamps are the two most common types of mercury-containing
lamps. Fluorescent bulbs provide lighting to most schools, hospitals,
office buildings and stores. HID lamps include mercury vapor lamps,
metal halide and high-pressure sodium lamps, and are used for streetlights,
floodlights, parking lots, and industrial lighting. Using efficient
lighting technology helps our society reduce energy consumption. While
the vast majority of mercury pollution comes from coal-fired power plants,
releases from broken lamps also add to the mercury in lakes and rivers,
which bio-accumulates in fish that is consumed by the public.
WHAT CAN ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS DO?
We urge you to use any of the materials in this CD-ROM and on the various
websites in your ongoing educational programs to help raise awareness
of this problem and its solution. In particular, we encourage
you to promote the many links to state-by-state resource information,
and the www.lamprecycle.org
and www.almr.org websites.
We also encourage you to include mercury and lamp recycling when developing
public policy initiatives at the federal and state level. Your input
into these issues is extremely important. While our project is
aimed primarily at businesses, which account for about 85% of the use
of fluorescent lighting, households and individual consumers also need
to be educated and informed about the safe handling of mercury-containing
light bulbs.
You can use the information in the following section to help inform
households and individuals on how they can manage their lamps.
MESSAGE
FOR HOUSEHOLD USERS
Homeowners can take
advantage of local government household hazardous waste (HHW)
collection programs to recycle their lamps. Household
users of efficient mercury-containing fluorescent lamps, including
compact fluorescents, are typically exempt from special disposal
requirements. Some states and localities ban homeowners from
disposing of such lamps in normal household trash. Please review
the State-by-State
Stringency Comparison Table or contact your state or local
government.
Recycling opportunities are available in many towns and cities,
either at local recycling centers or transfer stations. There
may also be household hazardous waste collection events where
fluorescent lamps are collected along with household waste such
as paints, pesticides, and used motor oil. Contact your local
waste disposal officials for details.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has information
on where to recycle lamps at http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/id/univwast/where.htm
including a link to Earth 911 that has recycling facilities
listed by zip code.
The EPA also has information on the significant energy efficiency
benefits of using compact fluorescent lamps at http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls.
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EPA has also published a Fact
Sheet on Mercury in CFLs. We are presenting highlights here for
your use.
Always
Dispose of Your Compact Fluorescent Lamps
(CFLs) Properly
While CFLs for your home are not legally considered hazardous
waste according to federal solid waste rules, it is still best
for the environment to recycle your CFLs. Only large commercial
users of tubular fluorescent lamps are required to recycle.
If recycling is not an option in your area (see below on how
to find out), place the CFL in a sealed plastic bag and dispose
of it in the same way you would batteries, oil-based paint and
motor oil at your local household hazardous waste collection
site. To see if your state has a collection site for CFLs check
Earth911.org
or contact your local state government. If your state
does not have a collection site, place the CFL in a sealed plastic
bag and then place with your regular trash.
Safe cleanup precautions: If a CFL breaks in
your home, close off the room to other parts of the building.
Open a window to disperse any vapor that may escape, and leave
the room for at least 15 minutes. Carefully scoop up the
fragments with a stiff paper (do not use your hands) and wipe
the area with a disposable paper towel to remove all glass fragments.
Do not use a vacuum as this disperses the mercury over a wider
area. Place all fragments in a sealed plastic bag and follow
disposal instructions, above.
Resources for Recycling
or Proper Disposal of CFLs
NOTE: Residential recycling programs are not yet available
in most regions.
1. Earth911.org
(or
call 1-800-CLEAN-UP for an automated hotline): Online, enter
your zip code, press “GO,” click “Household Hazardous
Waste,” then “fluorescent light bulb disposal.”
The site will identify your nearest residential mercury recycling
facility or mail disposal method. If you find no specific information
on CFL disposal, go back and click on the link for “Mercury
Containing Items.”
2. Call your local government if the website
and hotline number above does not have your local information.
Look on the internet or in the phone book for your local or
municipal government entity responsible for waste collection
or household hazardous waste.
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Environmental organizations are also encouraged to set up recycling programs
for the spent mercury-containing lamps in your own facilities.
SETTING UP RECYCLING SERVICES
Recycling services are provided by Association of Lighting and Mercury
Recyclers (ALMR) member companies anywhere in the United States and its
territories, Mexico and Canada. Services are available to large lamp users,
small businesses, contractors, municipal government agencies and they
are also available to households and the public through household waste
collection programs. Either directly or through a network of transportation
contractors, material can be picked up in any U.S. community. There
are also a number of lighting, maintenance and other building contractors
who will collect spent lamps and get them recycled for their customers.
Lamp collection programs can be designed for all generators:
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Small
users can participate by using a “box program”, where
a container is provided and when full it can be sent to any recycler
via ground mail shipment. This is a prepaid program and labels
and shipping papers are provided. |
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For
larger users, recyclers can arrange milk-run pick-ups and common
carriers will transport lamps to accumulation facilities throughout
the country, where they are consolidated for shipment to destination
facilities. |
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For
very large generators, materials can be picked up in trailer loads
as needed |
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There
are numerous collection locations around the country that ship
large quantities of lamps to recycling “Destination Facilities”
(state authorized recyclers) every day. |
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Recyclers
typically provide customers with collection/shipping services and
containers for lamps. They will also arrange all aspects of getting
lamps recycled for anyone who is interested. |
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Individuals
and small users can also take lamps to any locally operated household
waste facility in their community. For a list of community programs
see www.earth911.org. |
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“Lamp
Recycling. The Responsible
Thing To Do.”©
For more information
visit
www.lamprecycle.org
or
www.almr.org
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