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Disposal of fluorescent tubes, some 100 million (about 20,000 tonnes) and 100,000 tonnes of Cathode Ray Tubes CRT and glass used in old TV’s and computer screens are scrapped each year in the UK.
Historically disposal of fluorescent lights meant that they were usually shredded and dumped in landfill sites.
The problem is that mercury from the lights and lead from the CRT’s contaminate ground water and seep into environment and then the food chain.
If you are still using any incandescent light bulbs, the ones that used to burn your hands if you attempted to replace them when they died and left you in darkness, then you could do better.
The old incandescent light bulb used 95% of the energy consumed to heat up a thin wire inside the bulb to a temperature hot enough to make it glow and give out light.
Recycle these and replace them with longer lasting and much, much less power consuming LED’s…massive savings in your home and business premises.
Evolution of the light bulb from the original incandescent heated filament light to the current LED Light
If you are still using any incandescent light bulbs, the ones that used to burn your hands if you attempted to replace them when they died and left you in darkness, then you could do better.
They use 95% of the energy consumed to heat up a thin wire inside the bulb to a temperature hot enough to make it glow and give out light.
Recycle these and replace them with longer lasting and much, much less power consuming LED’s…massive savings in your home and business premises.
Fluorescent Tubes contain in general 94% Glass, 4% Ferrous and Non ferrous metals, and 2% Phosphor Powder.
It is within the phosphor powder that the most hazardous element is contained; Mercury, which is highly toxic to all living organisms.
You couldn’t argue with a 75% reduction in energy consumption
When Fluorescent Lighting Tubes came onto the market they were the smart economic choice.
The energy used produced light with 75% less heat than incandescent light bulbs, so much cheaper to run, but hazardous to health because of the Mercury content.
The good news is that legislation effective as of September 2023 meant that many varieties of potentially harmful fluorescent and halogen light bulbs would no longer be manufactured as part of the drive to reduce the use of harmful substances in electrical goods.
As the fluorescent light tubes and bulbs replaced the incandescent light bulb, so the further evolution ushered in light emitting diodes (LED’s) and once again, with benefits.
LED’s are more energy efficient, have a longer lifespan often outlasting fluorescent lamps by tens of thousands of hours, and though more expensive to buy, are the smart choice to save money on energy and maintenance as well as giving a better quality of light.
Fluorescent Tubes are Designated as Hazardous Waste
The Environment Agency determined that Fluorescent Tubes are now classified as Hazardous Waste in England and Wales, as Special Waste by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA),
Therefore it should preferably be recycled or if absolutely necessary, taken to specific landfill sites which can cater for mercury bearing wastes.
Initially a Machine is used to extract the mercury powder whilst capturing and isolating the vapours released from the light tubes.
The process involves passing the Fluorescent Tubes through a spinning Trommel chamber which separates the powder, glass and aluminium caps and dispatching them into separate containers.
Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFL) as above also use 75% less energy than incandescent light bulbs but contain mercury
The CFL Light bulb was the replacement for the domestic / traditional (or incandescent) light bulbs and as per the tubes used 75% less energy, but these also contain mercury.
The same principal benefits; Save money, apply- replace with LED’s and recycle safely.
LED lights last much longer than incandescent and fluorescent lights, but also have a shelf life.
LED’s don’t contain mercury, but do contain toxic chemicals such as lead and arsenic.
They also have a built in circuit board and the recycling process involves the removal of the circuit board and recycling of the component parts and the recycling of the glass and aluminium bayonet and screw-thread bases get recycled in the same way as fluorescent bulbs.
The LED lasts for 25,000 hours, over three times longer than a CFL Lightbulb and does not contain mercury.
So it make sense for your pocket, but using one LED bulb lasts the equivalent of 21 incandescent light bulbs.
Much less recycling required and so much less natural resource consumed and toxic elements risking the environment and health of the population.
Aluminium comes from Bauxite which is mined, and is among the most expensive metals to produce with over 100 different aluminium alloys each designed for use in a specific environment in marine, aerospace, aircraft and vehicle manufacturing adopting specific alloys for specific environments.
Recycling instead of dumping aluminium saves on bauxite conversion energy (fuel) consumption and mining resources.
Recycling of hazardous material such as Mercury falls into the same category but is also globally recognised as a risk to the food chain.
Mercury (chemical symbol is Hg) is used in the production of many types of light bulbs, batteries, dental amalgam, electrical switches, measurement devices such as thermometers, hydrometers, manometers, transmitters, densitometers, paints and pharmaceutical uses.
RCS Recycling separates the individual components of Fluorescent tubes and recovers them for recycling or re-use in a variety of industries.
The actual number of sites in the UK that can cater for such waste is very limited and, given high transportation and disposal costs nowadays, this makes recycling of your Fluorescent Tubes the most economical and environmentally friendly option.
Apart from the Environmental aspect to Recycling Fluorescent Tubes, it is also very important to the health and safety of your employees, an employee for example attempting to dispose of a Fluorescent Tube in a skip, not only would he be condemning the whole skip as Hazardous Waste, with costly consequences of the safe disposal, but he would also be exposed to the potential dangers of broken glass and also the inhalation of small amounts of toxic materials released as dust and vapour.
We provide Certification of Secure Disposal (free of Charge) for your records
Call us today with your requirements and see how RCS Recycling can help you!
RCS Safely and Responsibly Recycle Waste into Reusable Material RCS Recycling is registered with the Environment Agency as Carrier, Broker, Dealer (Upper Tier).
We collect commercial and hazardous waste operating in 18 counties (and counting) in the UK public and private sectors diverting waste away from landfill sites by recycling it.