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Mercury recycling could save lives | Sci-Tech | DW.DE | 16.05.2012

May 17, 2012   nlrgreen   No comments

Mercury is a toxic heavy metal still used in masses of everyday products. Disposing of it, experts say, requires advanced technology – and it could save children’s lives in develeoping countries.

Young people in many emerging countries continue to risk their health – and lives – dismantling electrical and electronic devices that contain mercury.

Indiais a prime example, according to Jochen Flasbarth, president of Germany’s Federal Environment Agency, who recently travelled to India and observed local methods of recycling electronic components.

“There you see mostly children in homes and apartments dismantling computers and other electronic devices, as well as electrical lamps, by hand – without any knowledge of the health hazards,” he said. “It’s a shocking sight.”

EU mercury export ban

To protect people against such hazards, the EU imposed an export ban on mercury in March 2011. Within the EU, the toxic substance now has to be disposed of in an environmentally-friendly way.

Germany’s largest recycling company, DELA in Essen, specializes in separating mercury from products and disposing of it safely.

Trucks regularly arrive at the recycler full of used florescent tubes. Fork-lift operators remove pallets full of the tubes and dump them into large hoppers. A powerful ventilation system keeps the air free of poisonous mercury fumes.

The tubes are then shredded and transported to a silo, where two tons of newly shredded glass are added every hour, according to DELA‘s managing director, Christian Bonmann.

From there, the crushed lamp glass is pushed through pipes to a broken-glass washer.

“We free the shredded lamps of the fluorescent powder by rinsing the pieces with clean water until they are pollution-free,” Bonmann said. “The metal and glass are separated up front by a sieve. We then ship the metal and glass back to the manufacturers.”

In addition to the glass and metal, a white sludge remains. It is rich in illuminates, which contain precious metals, such as yttrium and europium.

But the sludge also contains mercury.

So, in a next step – to separate the mercury from the illuminates – the sludge is poured into a vacuum dryer, which functions much like a clothes dryer.

Once the sludge is dry, it’s put into a vacuum and heated to 370 degrees Celsius to vaporize the mercury. Like a schnapps distillery, the mercury vapour enters a condenser and drips out, producing pure mercury.

Rotary kiln

The process also produces pollution-free illuminates, which light-bulb manufacturers can in turn use.

DELA also operates a revolving cylindrical furnace, which is three meters high and about twice as long. It can process all sorts of mercury-contaminated materials, particularly filters from coal-fired power plants and waster incinerators.

READ MORE VIA  Mercury recycling could save lives | Sci-Tech | DW.DE | 16.05.2012.

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Oregon Lawmakers Target Mercury in Light Bulbs | Heartlander Magazine

March 06, 2012   nlrgreen   No comments

CHERYL K. CHUMLEY

The Oregon Senate has passed a bill limiting the amount of mercury allowed in compact fluorescent light bulbs that can be sold or distributed in the state. The Senate passed the bill on Feb. 15 by a vote of 21-8, with one member not voting.

Agreement on Common Bulbs

“It came about through negotiations with the industry for some of the more common consumer bulbs,” said Scott Klag, a senior planner for Metro, an elected regional government body for the Portland area.

The bill, SB 1512, creates very specific standards for compact fluorescent light bulbs, otherwise known as CFLs. Mercury levels cannot exceed 4 milligrams for “screw-based compact fluorescent lamps less than 25 watts,” and 5 milligrams for “compact fluorescent lamps equal to or more than 25 watts and less than 40 watts.”

Consumers will be most affected by “the compact fluorescent with the swirly top,” for which “the limit would be 4 milligrams per lamp,” Abby Boudouris, a solid waste policy analyst with the state’s Department of Environmental Quality, told Environment & Climate News.

Click Below for more

via Oregon Lawmakers Target Mercury in Light Bulbs | Heartlander Magazine.

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Thumbs Up for Lamp Recycling!

January 11, 2012   nlrgreen   No comments
thumbs-up

Fluorescent lamp recycling for a business of any size has its positives that far outweigh not recycling and just going on with business as usual. There are positives that can be quantified, ones that can be physically seen and still others that have long reaching effects.

  • Through tracking and reporting a business can have a total of all their recycling efforts across one or multiple sites. This will allow them to be able to craft a more effective lamp recycling program by being able to pin-point which program (bulk or mail back) is right for them.
  • The bottom line. As with most things there is a charge for lamp recycling, but the cost is less than fines that can be assessed for improper management. Would a company rather pay $49 for a pre-paid recycling program that eliminates their liability or would they rather pay hundreds of dollars in fines for the same material that wasn’t recycled?
  • By collecting and correctly storing used lamps a business can reduce their liability for breakage, environmental breach, and possible employee injury
  • Recycling is both environmentally and corporate responsible. Recycling lamps keeps mercury out of our landfill and in turn out of the water and food sources that can directly impact our health
  • A lamp program can help a business increase their green image as well as convey a message of environmental stewardship to their employees and customers. Businesses can set up a company-wide recycling drive for all their employees or use their total lamp recycling numbers to quantify how much mercury was kept out of the environment. Real “Green Press” is green gold in today’s PR world.
  • Simply-Its the law and the right thing to do.

 

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Legislator Aims to Foster Instrastate Manufacture, Sale of Incandescent Bulbs – Sun Gazette Newspapers: News

January 11, 2012   nlrgreen   No comments

A state legislator is hoping to find a away around the federal government’s ban on manufacturing of incandescent light bulbs.

Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince William) has introduced legislation that would permit the State Corporation Commission to oversee manufacturing and distribution of the light bulbs within Virginia’s borders.

Such an intrastate effort conceivably could skirt federal rules, adopted during the Bush administration, which mandate phasing out the manufacture of incandescent bulbs in favor of more energy-efficient lighting sources.

Marshall’s legislation anticipates that the federal government would challenge such a measure; it directs the state attorney general’s office to represent any manufacturer of incandescent bulbs in Virginia in any litigation brought by federal officials or anyone else using federal law as the basis for a suit.

via Legislator Aims to Foster Instrastate Manufacture, Sale of Incandescent Bulbs – Sun Gazette Newspapers: News.

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Tips for the Day: Lamp Packaging Do’s and Don’ts

January 09, 2012   nlrgreen   No comments
dos-and-donts-guide-to-great-web-design

When companies are set to recycle their universal waste lamps there are some things they should know about how to package them. Our crack team of packaging specialists have put together the below list to help assist you in making the right choice:

The Don’ts

  • Don’t use any amount (mass or otherwise) of any type of tape (duct, masking, scotch, electrical) to keep the lamps together
  • Don’t place lamps in wet or damaged boxes. Hint: if you can push your finger through the box, see the lamps inside due to rips or if they fall out the bottom chances are its not usable 
  • Don’t try to fit a square peg in a round hole. In other words don’t put an 8′ lamp in a 4′ box or vise versa
  • Don’t pack with broken/crushed lamps. Hint: if you have to use a dust pan or shovel to load the box then they are not acceptable
  • Don’t let the containers “get fresh air” and be kept outside exposed to the elements
  • Don’t break the lamps in the box to make more space

 

The Do’s

  • Make sure you have the proper size boxes/containers
  • Make sure both ends of the box are securely taped (Not the lamps)
  • Be sure that the boxes are properly labeled with “Accumulation Start Dates”
  • Store boxes in a dry space inside facility
  • Use proper PPE (personal protection equipment) such as glasses and gloves when loading
  • Make sure to use a properly permitted recycling company to transport and recycle the lamps
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Light Switch: Old-Fashioned Incandescent Bulb To Be Phased Out, But Is It Better For Your Health? – Courant.com

January 03, 2012   nlrgreen   No comments

BY WILLIAM WEIR
The Hartford Courant

December 24, 2011

After much debate about the environmental effects of the incandescent light bulb — more or less the same kind from Thomas Edison‘s day — the conventional 100-watt bulb has been spared for at least nine months, thanks to political maneuvering.

Ten days ago, Congress delayed enforcement of new Department of Energy regulations governing 100-watt incandescent light bulbs. Under the new requirement, which was to have taken effect Jan. 1 but was postponed until Oct. 1, manufacturers will no longer be able to produce the bulbs in their current form but will have to make them 25 percent more energy-efficient.

Who knew the light bulb was such a lightning rod? Many people who prefer the incandescent bulb say their choice of light source gives a warmer glow. Besides aesthetics, though, some wonder what health effects would come from a world lit by compact fluorescent bulbs and light-emitting diode (LED) lamps. Fluorescent bulbs have been shown to emit ultraviolet (UV) rays, which can cause skin cancer, and studies have been conducted on the effects of their flickering.

Mark Rea, director of the lighting research center at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., doesn’t share most of these concerns. He said fluorescent lights have improved greatly in recent decades to eliminate the annoying flicker that sometimes induced headaches. As for UV rays, Rea said, 10 minutes out in the sun will expose you to more UV light than any kind of light bulb.

Read More  Light Switch: Old-Fashioned Incandescent Bulb To Be Phased Out, But Is It Better For Your Health? – Courant.com.

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IKEA to roll out reverse vending machines for light bulbs

December 14, 2011   nlrgreen   No comments

Dec. 14 — A recently released reverse vending machine is allowing light bulbs and old batteries to be recycled in Europe.

London-based Revend Recycling Ltd. and Norway-based Repant ASA designed and developed the machine that gives discount vouchers or other rewards to customers taking back their light bulbs, similar to taking back bottles and cans.

The machine will be showcased in a major retailer. Swedish-based furniture manufacturer Ikea will implement the machines at its stores in the U.K., Germany and Denmark, the Environmental Leader reported.

Increased demand for recycling of light bulbs, international changeover to CFL (long life/low energy) and LED domestic light bulbs and the recycling of domestic batteries was one of the major reasons the two companies designed the machine, according to a news release

via Headline News.

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Stores Respond to New Light Bulb Legislation

November 21, 2011   nlrgreen   No comments
Written by J. Patrick Eaken
Thursday, 17 November 2011 15:21

In the movie “Saving Private Ryan,” WWII American troops putting their lives on the line to seek Private James Francis Ryan sarcastically comment that he had better invent a better light bulb someday, or their effort is not worth it.

Well, somebody is.

Stores in Northwood, Woodville, and Oregon are responding to meet the demand for compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) and LED lighting.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2012, throughout the United States and Canada, incandescent light bulbs must meet more stringent lumens/watt requirements.

In other words, the bulbs must meet the same amount of lumens (brightness) for less wattage (energy). The changes begin with the 100 watt incandescent light bulb, which must now use no more than 72 watts to produce a comparable brightness. Additional bulbs will be affected over the next several years.

The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) was signed into law by then-president George W. Bush in 2007. The law provides for a three-year phase out schedule that will start in 2012 with 100 watt light bulbs. The 75 watt light bulb will go away in year two, and the 60 watt and 40 watt light bulbs will go away in year three.

The law also sets minimum standards for general incandescent bulbs, making it necessary for consumers to replace the popular incandescent bulbs with more energy-efficient versions.

“There are several options for more energy-efficient bulbs,” said Joe Rey-Barreau, consulting director of education for the American Lighting Association and an associate professor at the University of Kentucky’s School of Interior Design. “One is the 72-watt halogen-incandescent that is available today, and looks and performs like a standard 100-watt incandescent.”

Rey-Barreau stated in a press release provided by Gross Electric that a 26-watt, medium-base CFL offers the same amount of light as the 100-watt incandescent, but uses one-quarter of the electricity. It will last 10 times longer. If the 100-watt bulb you are replacing is dimmable, Rey-Barreau advises selecting a dimmable version of the 26-watt CFL.
“Peculiar” look, saves money
Even though some customers say CFLs look “peculiar” and are generally more expensive, Ron Gladieux, co-owner of Gladieux Lumber and Supply on Navarre Ave., Oregon, advises purchasing them. He says, so far, people are.

“Anything that can save people money and energy in the long run, they are all for it and looking to do that,” Gladieux said. “The bulbs will last longer. We’ve been selling them for a couple years now, and I think sales are almost 40 percent compact fluorescent.”

Phil Trumbull, owner of True Value Hardware, Water Street, Woodville, said, “Once you explain to people the cost savings, then it starts to make sense and the prices are starting to come down on the CFLs as well.

“We’ve been selling the compact fluorescent bulbs for at least five years now, and over the last two to three years the sales have picked up on those. We currently carry a pretty full line of the compact fluorescents in various shapes and sizes, including the ones that go into recessed fixtures like the cam lights that people have.

CFLs have achieved a level of performance that matches incandescent in color and far exceeds incandescent in energy efficiency, according to Rey-Barreau and Trumbull.

“By and large, the compact fluorescents are available in different color temperatures, so if you like the soft white look instead of the harsh white, you can get it that way. There are other people that prefer the whiter light, and those are also available if you look at the bulbs carefully,” Trumbull said.

Rey-Barreau adds, “Therefore, CFLs are a good choice for replacing incandescent light bulbs in task lighting, table lamps, or ambient lighting fixtures.”

There are still some issues people run into when purchasing the CFLs

read more 

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The darker side of power-efficient CFL’s bright story

November 08, 2011   nlrgreen   No comments

While the government is aggressively marketing Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) at subsidised rates across the state in a bid to promote use of these power-efficient bulbs and save some electricity, it seems to have spared little thought for safe disposal of mercury-laden lamps.

Early this year, the government launched Bhachat Lamp Yojana under which it has been marketing CFLs at subsidised rates, but it is yet to make a proper policy for safe disposal of CFLs.

The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) has distributed CFLs to more than 1 lakh households in Kolar and Bangalore rural areas so far.

According to experts, if the mercury-laden lamps are not disposed off safely and continue to be dumped in the landfills, they may cause several health hazards such as neurological disorders and cancer.

 

Though use of CFL is in its initial stage in India and the issue of unsafe disposal is yet to take alarming proportions, experts say, prevention is better than cure. They fear in the absence of a proper disposal system and necessary awareness, dumping of used CFLs in the landfills will gradually become a common practice.

 

And people will end up unknowingly poisoning the ground water and exposing themselves to several health hazards. As per the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), IT companies and private institutions are the highest users of CFLs in the city.

 

“The big corporate houses in Bangalore use CFLs, however, 90 per cent of the CFL waste is directly being dumped onto the landfills,” said A S Sadashivaiah, KSPCB chairman. The pollution panel, however, claims that it is currently working with the city entrepreneurs, BESCOM and BBMP to set up a separate CFL waste collection unit.

 

A single CFL bulb contains around 4 to 5 mg of mercury, which is highly toxic and can cause serious health hazards. “We have to first learn how to handle the CFL as a waste. It contains mercury and if it is disposed off in landfills, the groundwater will get contaminated and cause serious neurological and reproductive damage.

It can even cause cancer,” said Dr Thuppil Venkatesh, Principal Investigator, National Referral Centre for Lead Poisoning in India (NRCLPI). He added, “Since CFLs are energy efficient, they are bound to become popular into the rural areas as well. However, in the absence of a safe disposal method, rural areas may turn into polluted lands.”

NGOs working on environmental issues have questioned the entire waste management policy of the government. “Currently, all the waste is mixed together at the landfill and once the rain comes, it seeps into the ground or makes it way into the water bodies,” said environmentalist Suresh Heblikar of Eco-Watch.

He also added that the government needs to introduce policy to check the mercury contents in the CFL bulbs, as in many cases, they are way above the permissible limits.

Layman’s guide for CFL disposal

If there is no place to recycle your CFL bulb, seal it in a plastic bag and put it in the trash.

Don’t burn a CFL bulb, or for that matter anything that contains mercury

via The darker side of power-efficient CFL’s bright story.

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Vu1 to Sell Mercury-Free Light Bulbs in Lowe’s Stores, CEO Says – Bloomberg

November 03, 2011   nlrgreen   1 Comment

Vu1 Corp. (VUOC), a U.S. developer of mercury-free lights, will sell its energy-efficient bulbs at Lowe’s Cos. stores in its first deal with a major retailer, Chief Executive Officer Scott Blackstone said.

Lowe’s, with more than 1,700 stores across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, will initially sell the bulbs online and then in its shops next year, Blackstone said by phone from New York. While sales of the lights, which are about 70 percent more efficient than incandescent bulbs, are currently limited to “sampling,” there’s potential to generate “serious volumes,” he said.

Vu1, based in New York, is seeking to win a share of the lighting market as the U.S. introduces new efficiency standards next year that will cut the use of most traditional incandescent bulbs. The new rules may add $4 billion to U.S. light bulb sales in the three years through 2014, according to estimates from London-based researcher Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

The deal with Lowe’s, the largest U.S. home-improvement retailer after Home Depot Inc., is a “huge jump up,” Blackstone said. Vu1 is also in talks with electrical distributors to sell bulbs to businesses, and aims to announce more agreements by the end of the year, he said.

Vu1’s bulb, which can be dimmed, will sell at $14.98, according to a company statement. While that exceeds the $12-to- $13 cost of a comparable dimmable compact fluorescent bulb, it lasts longer, is mercury-free and produces every wavelength of light, the CEO said. Lowe’s will sell the bulb online from Dec. 1 and in its stores from February, according to the statement.

Efficiency Tradeoff

“Fluorescent technology is missing certain colors; that’s the tradeoff for efficiency,” Blackstone said. “The majority of people want to be environmental, just not in a way that makes their house look bad.”

While Vu1’s bulbs meet the new standards, they’re less efficient than compact fluorescent lamps, or CFLs, and light- emitting diodes, according to Tom Rowlands-Rees, an analyst at New Energy Finance. If they produce a similar quality of light to old incandescent bulbs, they may find a market, he said.

“Vu1’s bulb could be an option for those consumers that are not convinced by the light output of CFLs and LEDs but are no longer able to buy incandescent bulbs due to the standards,” Rowlands-Rees said in an e-mail.

via Vu1 to Sell Mercury-Free Light Bulbs in Lowe’s Stores, CEO Says – Bloomberg.

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