Program reclaims mercury from landfill-bound fluorescent lamps

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A new initiative aims to help businesses keep old fluorescent lamps out of landfill.

Take Back the Light was launched in June by the Ministry of the Environment and the Recycling Council of Ontario. It's Canada's first and only comprehensive fluorescent lamp recycling program for the industrial, commercial and institutional sector. It aims to recover and recycle the 30 million fluorescent lamps disposed of yearly across the province. Currently only a tenth of those lamps are recycled.

Through proper disposal, the 312 kilograms of potentially toxic mercury will be properly collected and recycled.

The program will work with both the suppliers and the users of lamps containing mercury to break down the barriers that have historically kept the levels of lamp recycling low in Ontario. Those barriers included retailers and manufacturers not being allowed to take back the lamps, which they now can if they are being recycled.

"Take Back the Light empowers organizations to recycle their lamps by simplifying the process and using sheer bulk buying power to get the best possible price for lamp recycling," says Jo-Anne St. Godard, executive director of the Recycling Council of Ontario, which is leading the program. "Participating in the program makes both environmental and economic sense, especially when the current reality is that only seven per cent of fluorescent lamps are recycled in this province."

The mercury contained in the 30 million lamps disposed of yearly in Ontario is enough to contaminate a body of water larger than Lake Erie to the point where its fish would be unfit for consumption. Take Back the Light ensures the mercury found in the bulbs is properly contained and reused so it does not reach landfills where it could contaminate the air, water and soil. While the recovery of mercury is the primary objective of the program, more than eight million kilograms of glass, 100,000 kilograms of metal and 128,000 kilograms of phosphor will also be reclaimed and available for re-use.

The goal of the program, funded by the Ministry of the Environment, is to recycle 10 million lamps disposed of by the industrial, commercial and institutional sector by 2012.

Take Back the Light provides a cost-effective and streamlined approach for businesses and institutions to handle spent fluorescent bulbs and other lighting waste. Those wishing to participate can register online at www.takebackthelight.ca. A program administrator will contact the registrant within 24 hours to provide information about the recycling process and lamp storage and transportation procedures.