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Greenyes members, See also the Association of Lighting and Mercury Recycler's web site www.almr.org <http://www.almr.org/> for a list of lamp recyclers in the US and Canada, state specific guidance on lamp management requirements, and other helpful resources. NEMA's website www.lamprecycle.org <http://www.lamprecycle.org/> also has good info on lamp recycling. EPA has a lamp recycling outreach grant program. See http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/id/univwast/lamp.htm for more information. One of the grantees, Vermont DEC is working with True Value hardware stores to promote lamp recycling among homeowners. True Value is taking back lamps from homeowners. Initially the state will pay the recycling costs through an SEP fund. When that runs out True Value plans to charge customers a small fee for the service. NEWMOA is working with electrical distributors to encourage them to take back lamps from businesses. In this case, the businesses pay the recycling costs and the distributor can make a profit from offering this convenience to its customers. For more info see http://www.newmoa.org/Newmoa/htdocs/prevention/mercury/lamprecycle/elect rical_distributors.cfm The University of South Carolina is working with Home Depot on lamp take back. Other grantees are employing interesting approaches to promoting lamp recycling such as by holding lamp amnesties, or partnering with property manager associations. Hope this helps to answer some of your questions. Meg Wilcox NEWMOA 129 Portland Street, Suite 602 Boston, MA 02114-2014 Tel 617-367-8558 X305 Fax 617-367-0449 mwilcox@no.address www.newmoa.org -----Original Message----- From: Mollie Freebairn [mailto:mollie.freebairn@no.address] Sent: Thursday, August 04, 2005 2:38 PM To: Mercury Policy, Legislation, and Regulations Cc: Tim Hines; Megan Kershner; Debra Lombard; Helen Spiegelman; Alan Muller; greenyes@no.address; Maine, Bruce; Cynthia Knowles; greenyes-digest-help@no.address Subject: [mercury_policy] Fw: greenyes Digest 3 Aug 2005 19:46:07 -0000 Issue 113 Below is a dialogue from GreenYes digest on the recycling of Hg fluorescent lamps and other products. I'm forwarding it on to the Mercury listserve at the NEWMOA (Notheast Waste Management Officials' Association) website, that deals extensively with mercury issues. This is the type of question they are there to address, and the additional information they would want to have as well. I don't know if Greenyes has a web site? NEWMOA's is at: http://www.newmoa.org/Newmoa/htdocs/ The Mercury question is in the front of the greeneyes article (greenyes Digest 3 Aug 2005 19:46:07 -0000 Issue 113). ----- Forwarded by Tim Hines/APCP/DEQ/MODNR on 08/04/2005 09:49 AM ----- greenyes-digest-help@no.address 08/03/2005 02:46 PM To greenyes@no.address cc Subject greenyes Digest 3 Aug 2005 19:46:07 -0000 Issue 113 greenyes Digest 3 Aug 2005 19:46:07 -0000 Issue 113 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 02 Aug 2005 15:29:19 -0600 To: <greenyes@no.address>,<SWANA-planningmanagement@no.address> From: "Megan Kershner" <Mkershner@no.address> Subject: Mercury in the waste stream: Targeting fluorescent lamps Message-Id: <s2ef9167.047@no.address> We have identified Mercury as a pollutant of concern in our community. = Having reviewed other municipal surveys on the impacts of Mercury, we have = discovered that 35-40% of the Mercury entering our environment comes from = solid waste disposal (e.g. fluorescent lamps, thermostats, etc.). The question is - how do you get residents and conditionally exempt small = quantity generators to properly dispose of fluorescent lamps? How do you = get CESQGs to pay for disposal (approximately $0.15/ft)? Does anyone have a program out there targeting these audiences? Successful= efforts to get businesses to stop smashing the tubes in their dumpsters? = And creative financing going on that helps offset or discount the cost of = disposal? I'd be interested to hear about any achievements you have made on this = front. Thanks, Megan Kershner Boise, Idaho Background: The City of Boise provides free HHW disposal to residents of = the community. Estimates show that 500-600,000 fluorescent lamps are = disposed of annually in Boise -- 90% from industrial/commercial sources. = Approximately 1500 residential lamps and 160,000 industrial/commercial = lamps are recycled annually. Hazardous wastes, including fluorescent = lamps, are prohibited from entering the local landfill as defined by = county and city ordinance. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 2 Aug 2005 17:37:32 -0400 To: "Megan Kershner" <Mkershner@no.address> From: Debra Lombard <dlombard@no.address> Cc: greenyes@no.address, SWANA-planningmanagement@no.address Subject: Re: [greenyes] Mercury in the waste stream: Targeting fluorescent lamps Message-ID: <OF86A6DBFF.BBC1DDA6-ON85257051.00763E9A-85257051.0076CA93@no.address> This is a multipart message in MIME format. --- You are currently subscribed to mercury_policy as: mwilcox@no.address To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-mercury_policy-554P@no.address --=_alternative 0076CA8F85257051_= Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" 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 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 02 Aug 2005 16:04:14 -0600 To: <greenyes@no.address>,<dlombard@no.address>, <SWANA-planningmanagement@no.address> From: "Megan Kershner" <Mkershner@no.address> Subject: Re: [greenyes] Mercury in the waste stream: Targeting fluorescent lamps Message-Id: <s2ef999e.023@no.address> 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? Date: Tue, 2 Aug 2005 18:12:21 -0400 To: "Megan Kershner" <Mkershner@no.address> From: Debra Lombard <dlombard@no.address> Cc: greenyes@no.address, SWANA-planningmanagement@no.address Subject: Re: [greenyes] Mercury in the waste stream: Targeting fluorescent lamps Message-ID: <OFD364B9A6.6A8A1A13-ON85257051.00795F10-85257051.0079FAA6@no.address> 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 ____________ Date: Tue, 02 Aug 2005 17:10:03 -0700 To: Debra Lombard <dlombard@no.address>, "Megan Kershner" <Mkershner@no.address> From: Helen Spiegelman <hspie@no.address> Cc: greenyes@no.address,SWANA-planningmanagement@no.address Subject: Re: [greenyes] Mercury in the waste stream: Targeting fluorescent lamps Message-Id: <6.0.1.1.2.20050802170731.01e817f0@no.address> --=====================_121070859==.ALT Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed 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 >____________ > Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2005 07:15:04 -0400 To: <greenyes@no.address> From: Alan Muller <amuller@no.address> Subject: Re: [greenyes] Mercury in the waste stream: Targeting fluorescent lamps Message-Id: <6.0.1.1.0.20050803071240.0262c408@no.address> --=====================_1365975390==.ALT Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed At 03:29 PM 8/2/2005 -0600, Megan Kershner wrote: >We have identified Mercury as a pollutant of concern in our >community. Having reviewed other municipal surveys on the impacts of >Mercury, we have discovered that 35-40% of the Mercury entering our >environment comes from solid waste disposal (e.g. fluorescent lamps, >thermostats, etc.). > >The question is - how do you get residents and conditionally exempt small >quantity generators to properly dispose of fluorescent lamps? How do you >get CESQGs to pay for disposal (approximately $0.15/ft)? I would like to know what is considered proper disposal for Fl. lamps. They seem too fragile and bulky to ship without individual re-packaging, which seems almost impracticable, but breaking them surely releases much of the mercury as vapor.....? Alan Alan Muller, Executive Director Green Delaware Box 69 Port Penn, DE 19731 USA (302)834-3466 fax (302)836-3005 greendel@no.address www.greendel.org ______________________________________ Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 07:33:12 -0500 To: "Alan Muller" <amuller@no.address>, <greenyes@no.address> From: "Maine, Bruce" <Bruce.Maine@no.address> Subject: RE: [greenyes] Mercury in the waste stream: Targeting fluorescent lamps Message-ID: <7B2F8CBF51F0844C833158EBEC1F859D013D0605@no.address> Good morning, Alan. Our office recycles approximately 800 fluorescent tubes a year. We simply re-use the original tube packaging and are able to safely secure about fifty spent tubes per box. Our recycler charges us 23 cents a bulb. Delaware should have regulations about storage prior to shipment. =20 Years ago we had considered a bulb crusher but it seems to me that one is creating a hazardous waste where a universal waste previously existed. And, some states have strict regulations regarding their use or do not allow them at all. For those familiar with LEED, the new EB (Existing Buildings) standard addresses fluorescents in two separate credits. =20 The first is a prerequisite that requires that the Owner maintain mercury content of all mercury-containing light bulbs below 100 picograms per lumen hour, on weighted average, for all mercury-containing light bulbs acquired for the existing building and associated grounds. =20 The second is a credit which is for recycling of spent tubes. Personally, I think they got it backwards and recycling of any toxic material should have priority regardless of the quantity. As Robert F. Kennedy says "All pollution is a subsidy" and citizens are going to pay for fluorescent recycling by a surcharge at the time of purchase with a manufacturer take-back requirement, pay at the time of disposal/recycling or have future generations pay in the form of medical costs or clean-up. There's no question that the new low-mercury bulbs are a definite improvement and if universally used would lower mercury emissions from coal fired power plants but there's still no alternate for safe and proper recycling. Regards, Bruce Maine=20 Sustainable Specifications & Materials Manager=20 LEED Accredited Professional=20 HDR Architecture=20 402.399.1198=20 bmaine@no.address=20 http://www.hdrgreen.com <http://www.hdrgreen.com/> =20 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2005 09:29:06 -0400 To: "Maine, Bruce" <Bruce.Maine@no.address>, <greenyes@no.address> From: Alan Muller <amuller@no.address> Subject: RE: [greenyes] Mercury in the waste stream: Targeting fluorescent lamps Message-Id: <6.0.1.1.0.20050803091559.0261fa90@no.address> --=====================_1374017421==.ALT Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed At 07:33 AM 8/3/2005 -0500, Maine, Bruce wrote: >Good morning, Alan. >Our office recycles approximately 800 fluorescent tubes a year. We simply >re-use the original tube packaging and are able to safely secure about >fifty spent tubes per box. Our recycler charges us 23 cents a bulb. Seems viable, do you know any details of what he or she actually does with them? >Delaware should have regulations about storage prior to shipment. >Years ago we had considered a bulb crusher but it seems to me that one is >creating a hazardous waste where a universal waste previously >existed. And, some states have strict regulations regarding their use or >do not allow them at all. I am pretty certain that a bulb crusher would create a cloud of Hg vapor. Enviro interests have been active in promoting Fl. lamps for energy savings, and rightly so, but I think we are quite guilty of not adequately addressing disposal of the lamps themselves. For instance, there is seldom any meaningful information on the packaging. This needs to change. And takeback at points of sale seems indicated..... Alan ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 12:03:19 -0700 (PDT) To: greenyes@no.address, SWANA-planningmanagement@no.address From: Cynthia Knowles <cynthiapatagonia@no.address> Subject: Re: [greenyes] Mercury in the waste stream: Targeting fluorescent lamps Message-ID: <20050803190319.93221.qmail@no.address> --0-887227363-1123095799=:92563 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit 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 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 08:14:06 -0500 To: "GreenYes" <greenyes@no.address> From: "Maine, Bruce" <Bruce.Maine@no.address> Subject: Fluorescents Recycling Message-ID: <7B2F8CBF51F0844C833158EBEC1F859D013D0670@no.address> Good morning again. My apologies to the list. Someone pointed out that my reference to Robert F. Kennedy should have specified that it was, in fact, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. His 2002 presentation at the Commonwealth Club is where he presents the idea that "all pollution is a subsidy." http://www.commonwealthclub.org/archive/02/02-02kennedy-speech.html Bruce Maine ------------------------------ ------------------------------ End of greenyes Digest *********************************** Mollie Freebairn Air Pollution Control Program Jefferson City, MO 65101 Phone (573) 526-3833 |
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