Implementing a lamp, ballast, battery, or electronics recycling program is a simple and practical way to "green" your organization. Recycling universal waste can earn your facility LEED points too.

Why Recycle?  Well for one the law requires it.  But these are some good reasons too:

1. Legal Requirements:

   Many states require lamp recycling and proper disposal of ballasts, batteries, and electronic waste by law. Make sure you are compliant with North Carolina recycling guidelines and regulations.  Click Here  Under the Term Contract No. 926B for the State of North Carolina, "Fluorescent lights discarded by non-households in North Carolina are effectively banned for disposal in solid waste landfills and incinerators..."
   

   Due to the new Federal Environmental Protection Agency's regulation on lamps, which went into effect on January 6th, 2000, most non-residential facilities are now required by law to properly dispose of their lamps. Landfills are increasingly intolerant of lamps from non-residential sources due to the amount of mercury found in each lamp. Lamps later found in landfills are subject to retroactive clean-up costs under CERCLA. Recycling of the lamp components is the recommended method of disposal by the Environmental Protection Agency and helps to minimize facility liability.

   Packaging of the lamps coupled with the recycling of the lamps will greatly reduce the mercury dilemma and create a much safer environment.

2. The Environment:

   Fluorescent lamps contain mercury, and ballasts, batteries, and electronic waste can contain mercury, lead, metals, and other materials which have a harmful effect on the environment if not recycled. 

   What's in a lamp? A fluorescent lamp consists of a glass shell, a high vacuum, a small amount of liquid mercury and evaporated mercury, some phosphor powder, and the metal end-caps and heated filaments.

   Fluorescent light is produced by passing an electric current through mercury vapor, which generates ultraviolet energy. A phosphor coating on the inside of the bulb transforms the ultraviolet energy into visible light. A single four- foot fluorescent tube contains from 5 to 50 mg. of mercury.

   When lamps are sent to landfills, or especially when incineration is used as an alternative disposal method, mercury vapors are released that can travel over 200 miles! It is highly toxic to the human nervous system and particularly poisonous to the kidneys. Once absorbed by the body, mercury is distributed by the blood to all tissues of the human body, and it easily crosses the placental barrier; prenatal exposure can lead to a variety of health problems including a severe form of cerebral palsy.

   • Each year, an estimated 600 million fluorescent lamps are disposed of in U.S. landfills amounting to 30,000 pounds of mercury waste.
   • The Environmental Protection Agency reports that 187 incinerators nationwide emit approximately 70,000 total pounds of mercury into the environment each year.
   • In 1992, mercury-containing lamps were added to the United States' Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) list of hazardous substances. (The EPA's regulatory threshold of 2 mg./liter is usually exceeded by mercury-containing lamps).
   • Mercury was number three on the 1997 list of hazardous substances as outlined by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the EPA.

3. Cost Effective:

   Over the life cycle of a fluorescent lamp, the cost to recycle is less than 1% of the cost of ownership. Recycling your lamps and obtaining a certificate of recycling is also a guaranteed way to avoid fines and costly enforcement action which can easily exceed the cost of lamp recycling

Why bulk pickups? What types of waste can be picked up? Who is this program for? Why recycle fluorescent lamps? What types of lamps can be recycled? How should I package my lamps for pickup? Do Electronic Ballasts Need To Be Recycled? What is My Eco Lamp's EPA ID # Do you service State Contract 926B? Do you work with contractors?

Why bulk pickups? Overall the most cost-effective recycling solution. If you have large amounts of waste, then you will save significant time and money utilizing bulk pickups as opposed to other recycling measures. What types of waste can be picked up? Bulk pickups can handle unlimited quantities of fluorescent lamps, ballasts, batteries, and electronic waste. Who is this program for? If your business or facility generates more then a box or two of "spent" used lamps a year, then the bulk pickup service may be a good solution.  For a smaller facility My Eco Lamp's EasyPak may be a good option. Why recycle fluorescent lamps? Replacing normal incandescent lamps with fluorescents can save facilities money by cutting down on energy costs. However, every fluorescent lamp contains the toxin mercury, which can cause major environmental and health problems if it is released from lamps through improper disposal methods, such as throwing bulbs in the trash. Lamp recycling that removes the mercury is essential for any facility that wants to help keep its workplace safe and the environment healthy. What types of lamps can be recycled? Types of lamps recycled include but are not limited to: Straight Fluorescent (all lengths and diameters) Compact Fluorescent (both with and without ballast) Circular U-bend UV Lamps (all sizes) Flood Lamps Incandescent Halogen HID (High Pressure Sodium, Metal Halide, Biax, High Intensity, Bi-Metal) Shattershield or Coated Lamps (all sizes) How should I package my lamps for pickup? Here are some basic guidelines for having lamps staged for local pickup. Please feel free to email or call if you have any questions.  Intact Lamps - All lamps must be packaged in a manner to "minimize" breakage. The OEM box is the most popular method of packaging. If the OEM box is not available, fiber drums are a simple alternative. Because they have lids, fiber drums provide a time advantage to boxing and taping. All lamps must be free of foreign material, including tape (on the actual lamp) and paper sleeves. Crushed Lamps - Crushed lamps must be sealed in a steel 55-gallon drum complete with locking ring and lid. There cannot be any extraneous material such as wire, trash, or liquids in the drum or it will be returned. Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) - Lamps should be placed tightly in cardboard boxes or plastic buckets with lids so they don't move around and break during transit.  We highly recommend plastic buckets with lids to minimize mercury exposure in case bulbs break. *Lamps must be properly packaged according to the Universal Waste law, Lamps not properly packaged or lamps taped together in boxes shall incur a $80.00 per hour handling fee (1-hr minimum) **Broken/Crushed lamps must be Clean, Dry, and free of any Foreign Debris (paper, rags, dirt, metal, etc.) Do Electronic Ballasts Need To Be Recycled? Many electronic ballasts contain lead based solder and would be regulated under unviersal waste rules.   Advance Transformers on their Enviornmental FAQs states "What Are the Major Components of Your Electronic Ballasts? The major components of our electronic ballasts are magnetic components (inductors and transformers made of ferrite cores, copper magnet wire and nylon bobbins), capacitors (electrolytic, film, ceramic), semiconductor devices (transistors, diodes), resistors, printed circuit board, steel or plastic enclosures, paper, and insulated electrical lead wires or connectors. Lead based solder is also used in small quantities. An electronic ballast may also contain potting asphalt..." What is My Eco Lamp's EPA ID # My Eco Lamp, LLC has obtained various State, County and City Permits to be able to handle "Spent" Universal Waste in the State of NC.  Our EPA ID # is NCR000147165.  For more on our license and permits, please contact us today.  We are happy to be of service to the community and we look forward to gaining your trust.  Do you service State Contract 926B? Yes.  It is our hope to help make it as easy as possible for State Agencies to recycle their lamps.  We have partnered with Southeast to help provide local service. Do you work with contractors? Yes.  We work closely with contractors to help create a full service solution for the customer.  If you are a contractor looking for a solution for recycling of fluorescent lamps, HID's, ballasts, batteries, lighting fixtures, please call or email us.  We will work with you to come up with a custom service for your customers.