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Where to take energy-saving lamps for recycling. Procedure for recycling energy-saving lamps Collection point for lamps containing mercury

Energy-saving fluorescent lamps contain mercury and can therefore be harmful to the environment and human health if not disposed of correctly. To process waste, special treatment equipment is used, and the products are transported in trucks with appropriate markings. Disposal of energy-saving light bulbs is carried out by organizations with a license, but if they are not available, you can contact the Ministry of Emergency Situations, stores, etc.

What is the danger of fluorescent lamps for humans and the environment?

The greatest danger is mercury, which is contained in energy-saving lamps. The substance is a neurotoxin. When compiling the world classification of polluting compounds, mercury was classified as hazard class 1. Despite the relatively low content, the substance is capable of infecting a large area.

The Environmental Protection Agency reports that approximately 800 million mercury-containing lamps are improperly disposed of each year. 1 g of toxin can infect 0.8 hectares of water bodies and become a potential cause of mass death of fish and animals. On average, 800 million lamps contain 80 tons of mercury. This amount is enough to infect approximately 64 million hectares.

If lamps are not disposed of correctly, due to the mercury content, in 120-140 years, representatives of flora and fauna will die out in an area that can be compared in size to the Amazon River.

Mercury most often enters the body through evaporation. Poisoned air does not have a specific odor, so a person may not be aware of the cause of intoxication. Even at low concentrations, the substance has a destructive effect on the lungs, skin, eyes, urinary, immune, digestive and central nervous systems.

Depending on the concentration of mercury, intoxication can be mild (food poisoning), acute or chronic. Symptoms include headache, throat discomfort, muscle weakness, drooling, swollen and bleeding gums, nausea and vomiting. Patients complain of a metallic taste in the mouth. Additionally, poisoning may be accompanied by a sharp increase in temperature, diarrhea, cough and chest pain.

With chronic poisoning, symptoms may subside, but the risk of developing associated abnormalities increases. Due to impaired functioning of the immune system, a person is more likely to become infected with infectious diseases. The chance of developing tuberculosis, hypertension and atherosclerosis increases. Mental abnormalities may occur. Patients complain of migraines, irritability, apathy, chronic fatigue and depression.

Why should you recycle fluorescent lamps?

Fluorescent lamps pose a threat to humans and animals. If the integrity of the latter is damaged, mercury from energy-efficient products enters the environment. This can happen even at the transportation stage, since there are no special transportation rules for the disposal of standard waste. As a result, the hazardous substance and its vapors end up in the soil, air and water. Molecules can travel long distances, so they gradually accumulate in the environment.

If the fluorescent lamp is damaged, metal may end up on the surface of plants or food debris. Drops may end up in the animal's stomach as a result of ingestion of food. Metal causes poisoning. Mercury is not digested, but can partially accumulate in the body, so the cycle repeats later. After the death of a poisoned animal or natural release from the body, mercury again enters plant food, soil, water, or directly into the gastrointestinal tract of another creature.

The toxin from mercury lamps can enter the human body. This happens not only when molecules circulate with water and air, but also when eating food. The highest concentration of mercury is observed in fish carcasses. This is the result of water pollution. With proper disposal, the penetration of molecules into the environment is excluded. Safety rules are observed at all stages of processing.

Where to donate energy-saving light bulbs?

Lamps from luminaires after their service life have expired can be returned to special places. Their addresses can be easily found on environmental information portals, local forums, administration websites, etc. However, in some cases, collection points and enterprises involved in transportation and disposal are located far away, which complicates the delivery of lamps.

Individuals can additionally contact the following organizations:

  1. A business that maintains local electrical lines. In most cases, organizations maintain optimal network conditions in several dozen or hundreds of locations. To dispose of lamps, contact your main energy supplier. Control over the destruction of mercury products is his responsibility. Sometimes an ecologist does this. However, a specialist does not always provide assistance for free.
  2. District or village administration. The Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation establishes that these bodies must control the disposal of hazardous waste. The administration is obliged to inform about the time and place of delivery of lamps. The waste will be transported using a special vehicle to the processing plant.
  3. UK or REU. If there are multi-storey buildings, the enterprises that service them must dispose of lamps and other household waste. The organization must enter into an agreement with the processing plant, so you can contact the employees of the management company or REU.
  4. Ministry of Emergency Situations. The district department does not recycle lamps, but must have an agreement with the recycling facility.
  5. Construction and hardware stores. Business owners are required to enter into an agreement with the recycling company. As a last resort, you can contact the store, but most often the request is refused. This is due to transportation and disposal costs.

Recycling technology

To recycle lamps, the organization must own special buildings for the safe storage of products. Before a license is issued, processing equipment and installations are checked. Before disposal, products are delivered in sealed packaging using special transport with appropriate markings.

Disposal methods

There are several disposal methods. In Russian cities, mechanical and mechanical-chemical methods are most common. In the process, mercury is intensively processed using cement dust. Once hardened, the toxin becomes harmless. The blocks can be thrown away or buried.

Modern approach

Modern factories use the following methods:

  1. Hydrometallurgical. Mercury is separated from other materials after washing with solutions.
  2. Thermal vacuum. After crushing, the lamps are heated under vacuum conditions. The vapors are collected in separate containers and frozen using liquid nitrogen.
  3. Vibropneumatic. The lamps are crushed to separate the materials. Then the phosphor, which contains mercury, is processed using temperature.

Different methods can be combined to increase efficiency.

The cost of recycling fluorescent lamps in some regions of Russia

The cost of disposal depends on the organization. Some businesses accept lamps for free because they are funded separately or are required to monitor recycling. The average cost of recycling a product is 15-20 rubles. For example, in Tyumen and Yaroslavl the price of processing is 15, in St. Petersburg – 20, and in Barnaul – 18 rubles.

Energy-saving lamps will soon replace all incandescent lamps. Now more and more consumers are switching to energy savers, as they can significantly reduce the amount of electricity used. The most common types of energy-saving lamps are LED and compact fluorescent (CFL). LED models do not have any negative impact on the environment and humans, therefore there are no special requirements for their disposal. But with CFLs things are different; they must be taken to special collection points.

What is the danger

Disposal of energy-saving lamps of this type should be carried out only in accordance with established regulations. They contain mercury and toxic substances. Mercury does not have a negative effect on the human body or the environment as long as it is isolated in a sealed tube. But if the integrity of the flask is compromised, the silver metal comes out and begins to evaporate even at room temperature. The contents of light bulbs can cause severe poisoning, which is manifested by the following symptoms:

  • nausea;
  • abdominal pain;
  • damage to the central nervous system;
  • bleeding gums;
  • disruption of internal organs;
  • dysfunction of the reproductive system.

Mercury is a cumulative poison; it is not eliminated from the body, but accumulates in it and gradually destroys it. It is very difficult to cure poisoning with this substance. If you do not hand it over to the collection point, the integrity of its glass flask will certainly be damaged. A dangerous substance will enter the atmosphere and pollute the soil.

It is especially dangerous when mercury enters water bodies - fish and seafood quickly absorb it, and then poison the people who eat them. Spent CFLs belong to the first hazard class waste, therefore energy-saving light bulbs must be disposed of correctly.

Who collects waste CFLs?

In Russia, there are just over 50 factories that process energy-saving lamps. At the enterprise itself, lighting fixtures are divided into different parts. Next, one of the demercurization technologies (mercury removal) is used:

When harmful substances are separated from secondary raw materials for further processing, the mercury is placed in sealed boxes and covered with concrete. After this, her burial takes place.

Right to receive lamps

Many consumers wonder where to dispose of used lighting elements. There are not many collection points for energy-saving lamps in our country. The difficulty lies in the fact that only those organizations that have received a license for this type of activity can collect and transport hazardous waste. They are subject to a number of mandatory requirements:

It is not easy to fulfill all these requirements and obtain a license from the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources. In addition, this type of activity is quite expensive, which is why collection points for waste CFLs cannot be found even in every big city.

The population must now think about how to dispose of energy-saving devices; this issue has not yet been resolved at the state level.

Disposal methods

Lamp acceptance in Moscow is carried out by many private and state companies, but in small cities this may be a problem. Let's consider where you can find a point for passing CFLs, and who should do this on the periphery.

In conclusion

Under no circumstances should you throw away energy-saving lighting fixtures in trash cans, garbage chutes, flush them down the drain, or simply leave them on the street. Due to the presence of mercury in lamps, they must be disposed of only in specially designated places.

Several private and public companies are engaged in the collection of CFLs. Now their number is insignificant, but if you want to keep the planet clean for yourself and future generations, do not be lazy to find special reception centers for housekeepers in your city.

Devices containing mercury belong to the first hazard class waste and are subject to mandatory destruction. Their internal components are dangerous to human health. Just one broken medium lamp evaporates approximately 50 cubic meters of toxic fumes. This leads to the risk of poisoning from metallic mercury that comes into contact with indoor air. Therefore, the contents of used fluorescent lamps must be completely recycled.

Even if the concentration of mercury vapor is within the minimum limits - 0.01 mg/m 3, this is still much higher than the maximum permissible concentration. The norm of atmospheric air is approximately 30 times less. The high toxicity of mercury led to the fact that these products were classified as waste class 1.

  • Fluorescent, luminescent, black lamps, DRL lamps.
  • Gas discharge: mercury, metallogenic, ultraviolet, neon.

The content of toxic substances in products can vary from 3 to 46 mg. For storage, special galvanized containers with covers made of thick fabric are used, where the devices are isolated from sunlight and other climatic factors that contribute to the manifestation of the dangerous properties of chemicals. According to the rules of Rostechnadzor, all fluorescent lighting devices in production must be recorded in a special journal. After use or in case of mechanical damage, mercury-containing lamps are disposed of.

Treatment of premises from the consequences of broken lamps is carried out in several stages. To begin with, all windows in the room are opened for ventilation, after which the surfaces are mechanically cleaned of visible particles of the substance. Then specialists demercurize mercury-containing lamps. Cleaning is carried out with a special solution - a demercurizer, which is applied to the surface and then washed off with water. This allows you to destroy even the smallest drops of mercury from the surfaces of walls, floors, and ceilings.

Rules and regulations

Federal Law No. 89 “On Production and Consumption Waste” defines the rules for the destruction of mercury-containing lighting devices. The normative act is binding on legal entities and individual entrepreneurs. According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, it is prohibited:

  • Store used LB lamps in public areas.
  • Store waste in food and storage areas.

Failure to comply with the requirements results in administrative liability in the form of a fine. Disposal of mercury lamps is carried out by special organizations. The destruction of lamps is carried out in several stages:

  • In a vacuum chamber, the products are freed from gas content.
  • The glass is crushed and separated.
  • The powder obtained by grinding creates condensation at high temperatures.
  • Mercury vapor with the sorbent turns into a liquid state.

Disposal of fluorescent lamps can be carried out by Ecoveist Group specialists on an ongoing basis, upon conclusion of an appropriate agreement.

Lamps

There are four main types of light bulbs:

💡 Incandescent lamps
💡 Mercury (luminescent)
💡 Halogen
💡 LED

If you know organizations that accept light bulbs for recycling, write to us about it with the subject “Light Bulb Recycling”: [email protected]

Incandescent lamps

Incandescent lamps are lamps in which light is emitted filament body, heated by electric current to a high temperature. A coil of refractory metal (most often tungsten) or a carbon filament is most often used as a filament body.

Halogen lamps

One of the types of incandescent lamps.

LED bulbs

The light source in LED lamps is electronic devices - LEDs.

Mercury vapor lamps

Energy-saving mercury lamps belong to the first hazard class waste, so they cannot be thrown away with regular garbage. By throwing such lamps into the garbage disposal, you are making your own home dangerous to live in.

By recycling mercury lamps, you not only take care of your health and the health of others, but also help nature. It takes much less energy, clean water and air to obtain mercury, glass and aluminum from waste than to produce them from primary mineral raw materials.

Rules for collection, storage and disposal mercury-containing lamps approved by special Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 3, 2010 No. 681, according to which the responsibilities for the collection and removal of such lamps are directly assigned to the management companies of apartment buildings, and in their absence, to local governments.

Where to donate mercury lamps? (Except for management companies)

  • IKEA stores
  • Globus hypermarket chain
  • Leroy Merlen store chain
  • network of construction hypermarkets Castorama
  • Accepted for a fee by the Waste Management Group

In Moscow

According to the order of the Moscow Government (No. 949-RP dated May 19, 2010), the acceptance of waste mercury lamps obliged carry out organizations managing apartment buildings:

  • DEZ - directorate of a single customer.
  • UDS - united dispatch services
  • Management company is a management company (in most houses in Moscow this is the State Budgetary Institution “Zhilischnik”)
  • HOA - homeowners association

Since 2013, government contracts for the collection, removal and disposal of lamps have been concluded annually. you can familiarize yourself with the state contract for the removal and disposal of mercury lamps in 2017 The state customer under the contract is GKU “MOSEKOPROM” (a structure of the Department of Housing and Communal Services) and the contractor is LLC “Ekopromtekhnologiya”.

Lamp collection points under government contracts can be found on the open data portal of the Moscow government (there is a map). List of addresses of points from the website of the Department of Housing and Communal Services. Also, points checked by volunteers can be found on the map recyclemap.ru

In other cities

If you don’t yet know where mercury lamps are accepted in your city, then the sequence of actions is something like this:

  • call/write to the city administration
  • in a written statement, demand to regularly, comprehensively inform the population, referring to the above quote
  • if the city has not created conditions for collecting lamps and you are being ignored, then write a statement to the prosecutor’s office

The data set provides information about organizations engaged in the collection of waste energy-saving lamps, indicating the administrative district, district, address of the collection site, work schedule and coordinates.
Based on the order of the Moscow Government dated May 19, 2010. No. 949-RP “On the organization of work on the centralized collection, transportation and processing of waste mercury-containing fluorescent and compact fluorescent lamps”, a centralized system for the collection, transportation, neutralization and recycling of waste mercury-containing fluorescent and compact fluorescent lamps has been created in the city of Moscow.
The centralized system is financed from the budget of the city of Moscow.
The collection, transportation, neutralization and recycling of used mercury-containing lamps is carried out by a specialized organization that has the appropriate licenses for the management of hazard class 1 waste on the basis of a government contract concluded following an open auction in electronic form.
The accumulation of used mercury-containing lamps, including their acceptance from the population, is carried out by management companies: State Budgetary Institution Housing Development Districts, housing cooperatives, homeowners' associations, LLCs, etc. GU IS districts do not accumulate waste mercury-containing lamps within the framework of the centralized system.
The list of Management Companies included in the above centralized system is determined annually on the basis of applications from the prefectures of the administrative districts of Moscow. Management companies that are not included in the centralized system manage hazardous waste at their own expense.
Under the terms of the state contract, the Contractor provides the Management Companies with special containers (containers) for the accumulation of used mercury-containing lamps and demercurization kits in case of damage to used mercury-containing lamps.
Control over the Contractor is exercised by the State Customer GKU "Mosekoprom" (a specialized government agency), as well as structural divisions of Rospotrebnadzor and Rosprirodnadzor within their competence. Control over the Management Companies is exercised by territorial executive authorities, as well as structural divisions of Rospotrebnadzor and Rosprirodnadzor within their competence.
As part of the state contract, a specialized organization transports, neutralizes and processes waste mercury-containing lamps accumulated by Management Companies.
Do you know what? Currently, 907 collection points for waste mercury-containing lamps have been established in Moscow. Information about collection points for waste mercury-containing fluorescent lamps is also presented on the websites of management companies.