Ontario Puts the Smack-Down on Fluorescents

Tag : Phosphor Powder



Every year, 30 million mercury-filled lamps head to the dumps in Ontario – that’s enough mercury to contaminate Lake Erie to the point where fish are unsafe for consumption. But a newpilot program, the first of its kind in North America , is aiming to keep mercury out of the water and landfill systemswith the first comprehensive fluorescent lamp recycling program.
By 2012, incandescent light bulbs will be banned and consumers willhave to figure out a way to compact their fluorescents. Take Back the Light , funded in part by the provincial government, recycles out themercury by moving the lamps on a conveyor to a negative pressurecontainment area. The lamps are then broken down to capture glass,aluminum, brass, and phosphor-mercury powder. The powder is thenheated to separate the mercury from the phosphor and a tripledistillation process cleans up the mercury making it eligible forreuse. A Pennsylvania company will collect the mercury that has been allowed to cool toliquid form in one ton containers where it will again undergoanother distillation and then be resold.
Next, Ontario hopes to begin compacting fluorescents as part of its next phaseof its hazardous waste recycling program. But that’s at leasta year away. By 2012, the province plans to contribute 1 millionlights a year from its 3,500 provincial buildings. By that year,the recycling program hopes to be recycling 10 millionfluorescents.
Ontario isn't the only one doing its part to clean up the mess ofthese lights. According to the New York Times , Home Depot will take back old compact fluorescents in all 1,973of its stores, becoming the U.S. 's most widespread recycling program for the bulbs.
Via Ontario Recycling Council of Ontario and The Star