LED Sustainability

Something like 80 million fluorescent tubes are sold in the UK each year and are categorised as hazardous waste under the European Waste Catalogue.

The UK government is rightly very concerned about the volume of waste still going to landfill and many organisations have reported on how this is clearly unsustainable. In addition to the volume of waste, fluorescents pose a serious risk to the environment on disposal due to their mercury content.

Both the UK Health Protection Agency and the US Environmental Protection Agency recommend that in the event of a fluorescent tube or lamp breaking, to avoid any risk of poisoning from mercury vapour inhalation, the room should be evacuated and completely aired for at least 15 minutes.

Mercury vapour standards allow for 300 nanograms per cubic meter but when a fluorescent lamp is broken the mercury vapour emitted can be as high as 50,000 nanograms.

Each fluorescent lamp contains a number of toxic waste chemicals including cyanide and enough mercury to pollute 30,000 litres of water beyond a safe level for drinking.

Since July 2007 disposal of tubes and CFL’s in the UK is subject to compliance with WEEE regulations to ensure safe recycling and stop the use of  landfill and the potential environmental damage from chemical waste. The aluminium end caps are separated and recycled, mercury is collected for reuse and the contaminated glass powder is used in mineral extraction. A number of waste management companies are now offering collection services and you should contact them directly for advice.

All the indications are that concerns over the long term damage to the UK environment from poor waste management practice will continue to drive ever growing support for tighter legislation.

SUSTAINABILITY BY DESIGN

Thanks to the unique patented technology at the heart of our BritishLED tubes we can guarantee 4/5 times the life of standard fluorescent tubes, massively reducing the enormous waste management challenge and saving business the associated costs of legal disposal. BritishLED tubes have zero toxic materials, zero installation costs, zero maintenance costs (no external ballast) and warranty cover of 5 years with LED life 50,000+ hours. The replacement of fluorescent tubes (and their harmful chemical waste), with our BritishLED tubes is not only good for business but essential for a cleaner, safer and sustainable environment.