Light bulb recycling levels on the rise
Wednesday, April 17, 2013 - 14:28:38
A wide variety of electronic items can be recycled, from old PCs and mobile phones, to major kitchen appliances.
Many people may not realise that it is also possible to recycle the light bulbs that provide illumination for our homes, although apparently this message is spreading, as a new report from Recolight has revealed significant increases in light bulb recycling over the past few years.
2008 was the first year in which data about bulb recycling rates was recorded, with a little over 23 per cent of lamps recycled.
This has risen steadily ever since and, in 2012, it hit 39.5 per cent for the first time, up by 10 percentage points compared with 2011.
The figures account for the effective percentage of the total lamps put on the market that were then passed through the Recolight scheme, which acts to take waste bulbs from business and domestic settings and harvest the valuable components they contain.
Another reason for the rise in recycling levels is that the growth in sales of energy efficient bulbs has helped to reduce the number of new lamps that are being sold.
Since energy efficient bulbs last much longer before they need replacing, people are buying fewer and the waste is lessened.
This approach, which combines a more efficient product with better recycling schemes, is ideal, because it promotes good habits in relation to waste disposal, while giving consumers an enhanced product in the first place.
Because light bulb recycling has become so prevalent, it is hoped that this will influence other areas of electronic waste disposal.
Businesses and consumers need to think carefully about how they deal with unwanted gadgets. While you cannot get cash for old light bulbs, you can sell mobile phones online for a swift reimbursement.
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