Re: [greenyes] Mercury in the waste stream: Targeting fluorescent lamps

[Cynthia Knowles <cynthiapatagonia@no.address>]

The city and county of San Francisco currently manages a residential fluorescent retail drop-off program (supervised small hardware stores and non-profit organizations), funded through city funds.  The program was originally funded through a three-year grant from the state waste board.  California's universal waste law requires that all fl lamps be recycled as of February 9, 2006.
 
A CA state assemblyperson presented a bill that would require a recycling fee at point of purchase for fl lamps, but it did not pass.  We were hoping that this would help fund our program.  We have advocated for this initiatve and will contuiue to do so in the future.
 
Ideally our program would also engage producers in take-back and recycling, as Helen points out.  This would more equally distribute responsibility for keeping toxics out of landfills to protect public health.  Collaborative responses will be an important part of the recycling equation as increasing amounts of U-waste are generated.
 
Cynthia Knowles
Toxics Reduction Specialist
San Francisco Department of Environment
11 Grove Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
Tel: (415)355-3760 / Fax: (415)554-6393
www.sfenvironment.org

Helen Spiegelman <hspie@no.address> wrote:
Good thread going here.

What strategy for fluorescent lamps would combine the following features:

- provide consumers a way to get rid of old lamps safely
- operate with no "subsidy" from government (rate-payers who don't use lamps shouldn't have to pay for someone else's)
- engage the producers of lamps in the disposal/recycling process so they get a message that lamps are a disposal problem


H.

At 03:12 PM 8/2/2005, Debra Lombard wrote:

Well the fl lamp retailers would need to dispose of the fl lamps. They could do that with the bulb eater (http://www.aircycle.com/recycling/prepaid/) type system or such. There would still have a cost to get rid of that waste approx $1/lamp or less. The customer would not see that costs as it would be added onto the cost of a new fl lamp through a disposal fee such as is done on car batteries or tires. 

~Debra 
____________ 

How would you pay for that program?  The city would be absorbing the disposal costs for each lamp from all sources including LQGs who were savvy enough to bring the lamps to these 'unsupervised' drop-offs.  Any financing options?

>>> Debra Lombard <dlombard@no.address> 08/02/2005 3:37:32 PM >>>
I would imagine that a good way to encourage proper disposal of fl lamps 
is to ask stores such as Home Depot, Lowe's and other retail stores that 
sell large number of Fl lamps/bulbs to have customers carefully bring in 
their used lamps to the store and put them into a plastic lined box made 
for such. 
Maybe the City could pass an ordinance to have this done for all retailers 
of fl lamps. 


Debra Lombard, LEED AP
Sustainable Design Specialist
The RETEC Group, Inc.
900 Chapel St., 2nd Fl - Box 9
New Haven, CT 06510
Tel: 203-868-0137
Fax: 203-773-3657
dlombard@no.address
		
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