A single broken fluorescent tube can pollute as much as 30,000 litres of water, a waste management company has warned.
The analysis by consultancy FirstMile has argued that around 80 million fluorescent tubes are disposed of in the UK every year.
This represents the potential recovery of roughly four tonnes of mercury rather than allowing it to enter the waste stream.
An estimated 29 million LED, solar and decorative lights are also sent to landfill in the UK every year, despite falling within the UK’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regime and being intended for separate collection from general household waste, it added.
Although lamp recycling is picking up pace, from 23.2% in 2008 to 52.8% in 2013, there is still more that can be done.
Oliver Nicholas, director of LED retailer The LED Specialist, said: “The recycling rate for lamps has more than doubled since 2008, which shows people are capable of getting this right when the routes are clear.
“The problem is scale. Millions of lighting products are still going into landfill every year, and many people simply don’t realise that lamps are treated as electrical waste. Clear labelling and convenient recycling points would make it much easier for people to do the right thing,” he added.
The EU’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive has been instrumental in leading to the phasing out from 2023 onwards of the manufacture of mercury-containing lamps, notably fluorescent lighting – such as T5 and T8 tubes and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).
From next year (February), it will be extended to high-intensity discharge, ceramic metal halide and SON high-pressure sodium products.
Image: Pexels
