Recycling Yesterday's & Today's Lighting

April 14th, 2010 by Bill Toby

Over the past decade technology has raced to keep pace with the changing world around us. Lighting manufacturers have joined the race to reduce our carbon footprint through the products they design for our homes and businesses. Lighting today uses up to 75% less electricity than it did a decade ago. Millions of homes and businesses are outfitted with outdated bulbs and ballasts. Replacing these old lighting systems will save you money and energy, and extend the life of the bulbs and ballasts.

As with any commodity there are several factors that come into play when recycling lights, bulbs, and ballast from your home or business. The experts at Environmental Consulting Agency can help you determine the best way to recycle your old lighting components. ECA consultants will help determine the size of the job and the best way to handle it, as well as handling all EPA issues on your behalf.

Ballast Recycling:

Before the EPA banned the manufacture of PCB's in 1978, PCBs were used in the manufacturing of fluorescent light ballasts. The use of PCB's in ballasts manufactured prior to 1978 was not regulated by the EPA. All light ballasts manufactured since 1978 which do not contain PCBs should be marked by the manufacturer with the statement "No PCB's". For those manufactured prior to that time, or for those ballast which contain no statement regarding PCB content, you should assume that they do contain PCB's. If the ballast does contain PCBs, it is located inside the small capacitor. There would be approximately 1 to 101/2 ounces of PCB fluid in the capacitor itself. If the ballast fails, the capacitor may break open, allowing the PCB oil to drip out of the fixture. The capacitor does not always leak when the ballast fails, but when it does happen, measures should be taken to limit or avoid personal exposure.

Lamps & Bulbs:

Lamps contain a very small amount of mercury and may be considered hazardous waste. Federal regulations require that spent universal and hazardous waste lamps be managed properly. Many states and local governments have banned lamps from solid waste facilities. Federal and state agencies endorse recycling as the preferred method of disposal of lamps.

Mercury is a widely-used product that is also toxic to humans.

1 – Teaspoon of Mercury can contaminate a 20 Acre Lake forever!

Each year an estimated 600 million fluorescent lamps are disposed of in US landfills amounting to 30,000 pounds of Mercury waste.

It is a persistent pollutant, once it enters the environment; it never breaks down or goes away.

Summary:

Recycling yesterdays & today's lighting is one of the best ways we can protect our environment today. Working together to keep Mercury and PCB's out of the air, water and soil will insure a healthier environment for generations to come. Recycling these commodities is a fairly new practice, making it scary for and individual or company to undertake. Let the good folks at Environmental Consulting Agency guide and support you with your all your recycling needs.