Hi Alan
~
We don't know what
the percentage of discarded lamps the
18,000 bulbs represents. I am actually surprised that the number is this high,
since most are CFLs, which have not been on the market for very long and have a long
life.
The number could
include some non-household lamps, but it
should be low. Non-household are prohibited by law from landfilling them and we
have at least four very active recycling firms that directly work with non-household users to take back their lamps, which
are often tubes vs CFLs.
Best
wishes,
John
At 12:59 PM 6/27/2007 -0500, Reindl, John wrote:
While I congratulate San Luis
Obispo County for providing this take back program, it seems to me that that
it is setting a bad precedent in having government pay for the handling of
the material, rather than incorporating this cost into the price of the
product.
Our own county has had ordinances requiring retailer
take back on a variety of products (auto tires, vehicle batteries,
fluorescents and thermostats) for a number of years, and the costs are not
subsidized by local government. As an example of results, last year some
18,000 fluorescents were collected from households in a county with a
population of 450,000.
John: (1) What percentage of
discarded fluorescents do you think the 18,000 is? (2) Does the takeback
apply to wholesale distributors and commercial use? (For instance, lamps
used in schools, warehouses and stores....?
Regards,
Alan
Muller
John Reindl
Dane County,
WI
- -----Original Message-----
- From: GreenYes@no.address [
mailto:GreenYes@no.address]On Behalf Of
RicAnthony@no.address
- Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 12:44 PM
- To: GreenYes@no.address; gaia-members@no.address
- Cc: zwia@no.address; maxine@no.address
- Subject: [GreenYes] Take Back Program" for household batteries,
fluorescent tubes and bulbs
- Press Release - For Immediate
Release
- June 26, 2007, San Luis Obispo County, California
- BY: Bill Worrell, IWMA
- The San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority
(IWMA)
- announces the implementation of the "SLO Take Back Program" for
household
- batteries, fluorescent tubes and compact fluorescent light bulbs
(CFLs).
- Nearly every retailer throughout San Luis Obispo County who sells
household
- batteries or fluorescent tubes and compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs)
will now
- take those items back from the public for free. Consumers who want to
shop
- green can now safely and easily recycle these products.
- More than 300 local businesses are providing this free service to
the
- public. Participants range from national chain stores such as Costco
and
- Kmart to local stores such as Farris Lighting. Nearly every retailer
who
- sells either batteries or fluorescent tubes and compact fluorescent
light
- bulbs (CFLs) in San Luis Obispo County is participating. A few stores,
such
- as Home Depot and Target, are not participating in the program. A
complete
- list of businesses where you can safely recycle these items is
available on
- the IWMA website (www.iwma.com).
- For the public, participating in the "SLO Take Back Program" is free
and
- easy. Bring your household batteries, fluorescent tubes and
compact
- fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) to any of the participating retail stores
during
- regular store hours. You can either put the items in a special
collection
- container or give them to a store employee. This is an ongoing, free
service
- provided to the public. Businesses can also participate by calling
- 805-481-9213 to make an appointment.
- The household batteries should be fully discharged. Lithium batteries
should
- have tape placed on the metal contacts. Fluorescent tubes and
compact
- fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) should not be broken and should be carefully
placed
- in the collection containers to prevent breakage.
- Household batteries, fluorescent tubes and compact fluorescent bulbs
(CFLs)
- are considered hazardous because they contain mercury. It's illegal to
throw
- away these items in your garbage or recycling can, or to dispose of
them at
- a landfill. You can be confident that disposing of these items at the
"SLO
- Take Back Program" locations will mean the items will be sent off to
be
- properly managed which includes recovering the mercury.
- The "SLO Take Back Program" is funded by a grant from the
California
- Integrated Waste Management Board.
- Bill Worrell
- SLO County IWMA
- 870 Osos Street
- San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
- Ricanthony@no.address
- RichardAnthonyAssociates.com
- San Diego, California
- See what's free at AOL.com.
-
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