CIRCULARITY

Recycling

We avoid waste wherever possible. Our lamps only contain a minimum amount of environmentally damaging substances and we do not use unnecessary packaging materials. We continuously work on improving our products to make them as recyclable as possible. When developing new products, we reduce the amount of harmful substances or, if possible, completely replace them with harmless substances.

Disposal of modern lamps and luminaires
Fluorescent lamps and discharge lamps contain small amounts of mercury and valuable raw materials. LED lamps and luminaires contain electronic components and valuable raw materials as well. That is why these products should not be thrown out with the garbage or other glass, but should be collected and recycled or be disposed of safely according to the WEEE directive and corresponding national law of the EU Member States.
The products of the lamp industry are unique in terms of disposal. Approximately 80% of all used equipment are lamps, but they only account for 1% of the total electronic waste by weight. Our products are fragile and therefore also need to be handled in a specific way at the end of their life. The high quantity, the necessary small-scale logistics, and the requirements for handling these products call for tailor-made organization for best recycling results.
Incandescent lamps and halogen lamps consist of glass and metal and do not contain any harmful substances. Collecting them separately does not make sense so they can simply be disposed of with other garbage. Therefore these two product families are generally not in the scope of the WEEE directive.
Collection requirements
In order to take into consideration the specifics already described, large manufacturers within the lamp industry set up CRSOs (Collection and Recycling Service Organizations) in most European countries which organize the collection and eco-friendly disposal of old equipment for the industry. These companies look after the following tasks for us:
  • Creating a disposal system, taking into account and including communal collection arrangements.
  • Actively educating consumers and raising their awareness for handling our products in an eco-friendly way at end of life.
  • Carrying out actual collection, transport, recycling and disposal.
  • Developing new technologies and processes to increase the percentage to be reused.
Since CRSOs are systems for all WEEE lamps, consumers do not have to sort lamps, which are registered by the WEEE directive, by manufacturer or production date. In most countries private consumers can hand in discharge lamps at most collection points free of charge.
Technical procedures
Various recycling procedures have been established for the reuse of LED and discharge lamps for both stationary and mobile operations. These procedures aim at neatly separating the components of the lamps and reusing the remaining material wherever possible. Clean glass is used for the production of new lamps and mixed glass is recycled with other glass. Metal parts go into metal recycling and plastics are mainly recycled thermally. Phosphors are blown out or rinsed out and can be used for industrial processes. The remaining mercury is disposed of appropriately. This is how more than 90% of raw lamp materials are reused.

EU Directive WEEE

EU Directive 2002/96/EC WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) came into force on February 13, 2003. The main objective of this directive is to avoid waste from old electrical and electronic equipment and above all to promote the reuse, recycling and other forms of recovering such waste in order to reduce the amount of waste as well as safeguard resources, in particular by reusing and recycling them.

Statutory regulations of electronic waste disposal

As of August 13, 2005, the directive needed to be transposed into national law in all EU member states. Since the national regulations came into force, all manufacturers and importers of electronic equipment in the EU member states have been obliged to take back certain products and to ensure that they are processed, reused or recycled. All manufacturers, importers and initial distributors of electrical and electronic equipment, which also includes specific lamps and luminaires, are obliged to be registered on a national level.

All electrical and electronic equipment circulated since the relevant regulations came into force have to be clearly recognizable by labeling the equipment with a symbol showing a crossed-out garbage can.

The member states produce a registry of manufacturers and collect data on the amount and categories of electrical and electronic equipment which are circulated, collected, reused and recycled on their markets each year. In addition, the member states have to produce a status report every three years. National checks will confirm that this has been carried out correctly by each member state.

A revised version of the directive was published in July 2012 and is currently being implemented in the member states of the EU. The key content and objectives have not changed.

Rest of the world
Thanks to the WEEE Directive, the EU and the countries of the European Union are considered pioneers in the collection and recycling of old electrical equipment. However, similar proposals are currently being developed or have already been implemented across the world. LEDVANCE is actively involved in many countries in applying the experiences gained in the European environment. As in Europe, its involvement is organized in cooperation with other manufacturers to meet the needs of consumers and the requirements of collection and recycling.
For emerging and developing countries the use of efficient lighting technologies is an important contribution to safeguarding national energy supplies. LEDVANCE announced its participation in the Clean Energy Ministerial Global Lighting Challenge (GLC) with a commitment to selling 2.5 billion energy efficient LED Lamps by 2023. The Clean Energy Ministerial is a forum of countries working together to promote the global transition towards clean energy generation and consumption. The Global Lighting Challenge, launched in the winter of 2015, is a campaign focused on deploying 10 billion high efficiency, high quality affordable light bulbs, in an effort to combat climate change. Achieving the goal of selling 2.5 billion LED Lamps by 2023 is estimated to save the equivalent amount of energy typically produced by 75 medium sized coal fired energy plants.
Lamprecycle (Homepage)
Disposal of waste batteries and chargers
Waste batteries and chargers (together ”Waste Batteries“) must not be disposed of in general household waste.
Consumers as end-users are under a statutory duty to return Waste Batteries. Waste Batteries can be returned to the original seller or to the dedicated collection points station (e.g. municipal collection points or in the shop) without extra cost.
Products incorporating Waste Batteries that cannot be removed by the end-user must be disposed of at a collection point for waste electronic equipment. In such cases, the operator of the facilities of the waste electronic equipment is responsible for the appropriate treatment or disposal of Waste Batteries.

Waste Batteries contain valuable materials such as zinc, iron, aluminium, lithium and silver. Some of the materials contained in Waste Batteries (such as heavy metals, including mercury, cadmium and lead) may have a detrimental impact on health and the environment if improperly disposed of. If Waste Batteries are disposed of in the unsorted municipal waste, then harmful substances could be released into the environment. In addition, the valuable component materials are lost. Waste Batteries may contain materials that could irritate the skin, may cause allergies or are highly reactive. Therefore, even those Waste Batteries without the labelling set out below may not be totally safe.
The symbols shown on Waste Batteries have the following meanings:
The crossed-out wheeled-bin means: Separate collection required- Waste Batteries must not be disposed of in unsorted household waste.
The symbols below the crossed-out wheeled-bin mean:
Pb = Waste Battery contains over 0.004% lead
Cd = Waste Battery contains over 0.002% cadmium
Hg = Waste Battery contains over 0.0005% mercury.
Key characteristics of disposal and recycling organizations
Lamps are ideal for recycling as more than 90% of a lamp's components can be reused. Product recycling always aims at reclaiming as much material of a single type as possible in order to safeguard our limited resources and our environment by correctly disposing of harmful substances. This works well with lamps.
In European countries the collection and reuse of discharge lamps is organized by companies, charities and organizations founded specifically for this purpose. Here you can see which CRSO (Collection and Recycling Service Organization) works for and with LEDVANCE in European countries. The national CRSO is your point of contact for issues on lamp disposal.
These organizations mainly operate as non-profit companies and are specialized in the disposal of lamps and luminaires. Close collaboration between organizations and links to manufacturers ensure that technical product development information and requirements of the recycling industry are incorporated as effectively as possible in the high-quality recycling of natural resources.

Point of contact in the member states of the European Union

Code CRSO Link
AT Austria UFH www.ufh.at
BE Belgium LightRec (Recupel) www.recupel.be
CH Switzerland Stiftung Licht Recycling Schweiz (SLRS) www.slrs.ch
CZ Czech Republic Ekolamp www.ekolamp.cz
DE Germany Lightcycle Retourlogistik und Service GmbH www.lightcycle.de
DK Denmark Lyskildebranches WEEE Forening (LWF) www.LWF.nu
EE Estonia Ekogaisma SIA www.ekogaisma.ee
ES Spain Ambilamp www.ambilamp.com
FI Finland FLIP www.flip.fi
FR France EcoSystem www.ecosystem.eco
GB United Kingdom Recolight Limited www.recolight.co.uk
GR Greece Appliances Recycling S.A. www.electrocycle.gr
HU Hungary Electro-Coord Kht. www.electro-coord.hu
IE Ireland Recolight Ireland www.weeeireland.ie
IT Italy Ecolamp www.ecolamp.it
LU Luxembourg Ecotrel asbl www.ecotrel.org
LV Latvia Ekogaisma SIA www.ekogaisma.lv
NL Netherlands Lightrec www.lightrec.nl
NO Norway Renas AS www.renas.no
PL Poland ElektroEko www.elektroeko.pl
PT Portugal Amb3E www.amb3e.pt
RO Romania Asociatia Recolamp www.recolamp.ro
SE Sweden El-Kretsen i Sverige AB www.el-kretsen.se
SI Slovenia Ekosij Zeos www.zeos.si
SK Slovakia Ekolamp www.ekolamp.sk

HANDLING BROKEN LAMPS

The only time a consumer may be exposed to mercury is if the glass of the lamp is cracked or broken. If this happens, the following rules help to minimize the exposure:

1. Don't panic! Remember that a fluorescent lamp contains only a very small amount of mercury.

2. If the lamp was broken in a luminaire, make sure to disconnect the power to avoid the risk of electric shock.

3. Since mercury distributes at ground level, children should leave the room.

4. Open the windows and leave the room for at least 15 minutes. If possible, allow an air draft through the room.

5. To protect yourself from cuts with glass shards, gloves should be used whenever available.

6. After ventilation, gather large glass pieces in a sealed container and close it tightly.

7. You should bring the container with the bulb remains to the next collection point for waste lamps. If you have to store them in the meantime, please do so outdoors, if possible.

IF THE LAMP WAS BROKEN ON AN EVEN SURFACE (TILES, PARQUET, LINOLEUM, PVC, LAMINATE):

1. Collect smaller glass pieces, for example with a stiff cardboard.

2. Thoroughly wipe the surface at least two times with disposable household towels.

IF THE BREAKAGE HAPPENED ON CARPET:

1. It is recommended to vacuum the carpet for at least 5 minutes with open windows. Afterwards, ventilate the room for 15 minutes and repeat procedure at least two times.

2. If possible, clean and air carpet outdoors (at least one day).

3. Diligently wipe nozzle and immediately remove bag or thoroughly clean dust container. Leave vacuum cleaner running outdoors for at least 15 minutes.

4. All used materials (gloves, pieces of cardboard, household towels, vacuum cleaner bag and dust from bagless vacuum cleaner) can be disposed of as household waste, but should immediately be taken out of the living area.

5. The room should be ventilated after all lamp remains have been removed.

REMEMBERING THE FOLLOWING POINTS WILL ALLOW YOU TO MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION FOR YOURSELF:

  • Breathing in mercury vapor is the main avenue of entry into the human body.
  • At room temperature, mercury is a liquid which evaporates slowly. This evaporation quickens in higher ambient temperatures. If a lamp is broken while burning, most of the mercury is already in vapor form.
  • With a broken lamp, most of the mercury will cling to the fragments, and evaporate over time. Disposing of these fragments in a trash bin outside quickly keeps the mercury out of your home, while leaving them in a trash can in your kitchen is counterproductive. Equally, mercury on lamp fragments in your vacuum bag will slowly evaporate wherever the vacuum cleaner is kept and used.
  • Ventilating the affected area considerably reduces measurable mercury vapor levels.
  • Use quality compact fluorescent lamps by LEDVANCE - here you can be sure that the mercury content is well below statutory limits.
 

In order to ensure that our clean-up instructions are correct, LEDVANCE chose a scientific approach to this topic. The Environment, Health and Safety department conducted an intensive study measuring the mercury contamination in a room in which a fluorescent lamp was broken and several alternatives for cleaning up were analyzed:

To test the actual concentration of mercury in a room in which a fluorescent lamp was broken, the following test was conducted. The lamp in question was a L58W/640 with a mercury content of approximately 5 mg in liquid form. This is considerably more mercury than contained in modern compact fluorescent lamps.

Test Conditions

A fluorescent lamp was fractured in a closed room. After six minutes, the shards were removed and the room was ventilated by opening the door and window. The mercury concentration in the air was recorded continually.

Lamp type: L58W / 640

Room temperature: 22 °C

Room size: 15 m², 2.30 m high = 35 m³

Location of sensor: 0,5 m above broken lamp

Sensor equipment: Mercury vapor monitor Hg-MAK 1200

Result

The mercury from the broken lamp quickly leads to a concentration reaching a maximum of 25 µg /m³. The discontinuous form of the data can be attributed to the sensitivity of the measuring equipment, and the movement of air. Similarly, two peaks after the window is opened are due to the increased movement of air. Only 3.5 minutes after the pieces are removed and the room is ventilated, the mercury concentration drops to nearly zero. The concentration over the course of the experiment is considerably below the permissible occupational threshold values [1] for mercury vapor.

[1] Threshold value 80 μg/m³ for 30 minutes according to TRGS 900 - published by the German Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs 2012 – and threshold value 100 μg/m³ according to the American OSHA PEL (Occupational Safety and Health Administration / Permissible Exposure Limit).

A note on the methods for CFL disposals: A wide variety of guidelines can be found on the internet published by distinguished institutions, some at odds with each other. It was this confusion that led us to conduct the study mentioned above. The results of the scientific study confirmed the above described rules, which are a slightly amended version of the Energy Star Guidelines. Nevertheless, you can read these and other guidelines yourself:

Guideline: Energy Star Guideline: Environmental Protection Agency

Guideline: German Ministry for Environmental Protection (German)
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