T12 replacement and disposal

[hfd419]

My company is starting a retrofit project going from T12 to T8 for a customer. I know how rumor and "I have always heard" goes but... I thought if a T12 lamp had green metal ends or green writing on the lamp itself then that was to designate that there was no special requirements and they could simply be thrown away.

Any truth to this?

 

[hfd419]

My company is starting a retrofit project going from T12 to T8 for a customer. I know how rumor and "I have always heard" goes but... I thought if a T12 lamp had green metal ends or green writing on the lamp itself then that was to designate that there was no special requirements and they could simply be thrown away.

Any truth to this?

This is based on Indiana if it makes a difference

 

[mjf]

I don't know the specific laws.

fluorescent lamps contain mercury.

I've been recycling lamps from commercial customers and providing them with certificates of compliance for their records from the recycling company.

 

[zbang]

Last time I was involved with something like this, we hired a company to recycle the lamps and the troffers we removed. They brought out cardboard barrels for the lamps (stuck the tubes in without breaking them), then they took everything away. (Didn't check for a recycle cert. but that was outside my scope.)

 

[hfd419]

Last time I was involved with something like this, we hired a company to recycle the lamps and the troffers we removed. They brought out cardboard barrels for the lamps (stuck the tubes in without breaking them), then they took everything away. (Didn't check for a recycle cert. but that was outside my scope.)

I have found documentation from GE though it is a couple years old that their lamps with green logos meet the requirements for normal trash. I am also aware that small producers are exempt in most states regardless. I was only asking if this is a universal thing amongst lamp manufacturers with regard to green etching or metal end caps not an ethical debate.

 

[hfd419]

I have found documentation from GE though it is a couple years old that their lamps with green logos meet the requirements for normal trash. I am also aware that small producers are exempt in most states regardless. I was only asking if this is a universal thing amongst lamp manufacturers with regard to green etching or metal end caps not an ethical debate.

Here is a link to the GE Lamp info I was talking about. It appears their that are TCLP compliant (able to be thrown away in regular trash in most states) are all marked with green etching of the logo.

http://www.geappliances.com/email/lighting/specifier/downloads/A_Short_Guide_to_Lamp_Disposal.pdf

The next link talks about TCLP compliance and disposal.

http://www.informinc.org/fs_P3tclp.pdf

 

[captainwireman]

https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=22764

 

[TNBaer]

The Green ends or writing don't mean much. The end caps are simply a Philips thing, any lamp that is designated "Alto" (A Philips marketing term meaning "Low Mercury") has a green end cap. GE does something similar. Check with your state to see what the law requires. As a rule, if it's a fluorescent lamp you should recycle it.

 

[LEO2854]

Last time I was involved with something like this, we hired a company to recycle the lamps and the troffers we removed. They brought out cardboard barrels for the lamps (stuck the tubes in without breaking them), then they took everything away. (Didn't check for a recycle cert. but that was outside my scope.)

I wonder what they do with those old lamps?

 

[Sparky3141]

Everything I've seen and heard is that the green caps and writing indicates an "eco" friendlier lamp; lower mercury content, not non-mercury content.

According to the websites posted here, TCLP (toxicity characteristic leaching procedure) compliant lamps "...may not prevent (mercury) leaching over long periods under real landfill conditions." Also: "Although it is legal in many states to dispose of TCLP compliant lamps as nonhazardous waste, this practice sends mercury to landfills or, worse, to municipal waste incinerators, and thus contributes to mercury pollution."

We here at the Department of the Navy handle even these lower mercury content lamps as "universal waste" and recycle them. I end up doing quite a lot of lighting here and turn in boxes by the hundreds; and that's just my shop among several.

And finally the conclusion which I totally agree with given the shear volume of these things we handle:

"Conclusion

The TCLP status of fluorescent lamps is not necessarily
the best indicator of their potential environmental
and health impacts. Consumers who wish to reduce the
impact of their lamps on the environment will (1) select
lamps that contain the lowest mercury content available

for their particular use, and (2) recycle all lamps at
end of life, regardless of their TCLP status. "

 

[tom baker]

Lamp disposal regulations done by each state, green caps (in Washington) still require recycling.
Our local wholesale house has prepaid boxes we get, fill, and ship to a licensed recycler. The recyclers recycle glass, metal end caps , phospors, and wire, .
Our county has a moderate risk hazardous waste recycling facility we take our lamps there its very reasonible to do so