Instead of incandescent lamps, energy-saving (fluorescent) lamps are increasingly being used. They are much more profitable, help save energy. New lamps are also subject to recycling, like the old ones. Only the technology for destroying lighting fixtures is different. You need to know how to dispose of energy-saving light bulbs so as not to harm the environment and people. Fluorescent lighting fixtures contain mercury. Therefore, energy-saving lamps must not be disposed of with other waste.

Disposal energy saving lamps points

Mercury is a very dangerous and toxic substance. In energy-saving lamps, it does not pose a threat while it is behind glass. A discarded lamp is not dangerous until it is broken. If the glass is damaged, then poisonous fumes will be released into the atmosphere. For this reason, you can not throw fluorescent lamps into the garbage chute, containers for household waste. Moreover, it is unacceptable to store them at home in an urn or bucket. Such lamps should be disposed of at special enterprises where the necessary conditions are created.

First, the devices are separated into their component parts.

Everyone goes through their own recycling path.

Some of the recycled materials can then be reused.

Toxic and poisonous substances are poured with cement and sent to special burial places.

According to the legislation, failed fluorescent lamps must be accepted in ZhEKs and REU. There are also private companies that collect burnt or broken products. They then send them to factories. There, the phosphor, which contains mercury, is separated, then treated with demercurizing chemicals. Waste is covered with cement and packed in airtight containers.

Delivery of energy-saving light bulbs

The recycling process is quite expensive. Therefore, there are not many companies in Russia that assemble and sell energy-saving lamps, and enterprises for processing products. For destruction, they must be separated from other garbage and placed in an individual container.

Where to donate energy-saving light bulbs?

They can be transferred to the service departments of IKEA hypermarkets. These stores have special containers for this purpose.

Also, separate tanks are located in some cities in the directorates for the operation of buildings and repair departments. These organizations are required to accept burned out or broken fluorescent lamps.

Products are handed over to industrial organizations and enterprises that are engaged in the maintenance of electrical networks or lighting. These companies cooperate with firms for the disposal of toxic and poisonous household waste.

However, not all cities have well-known drop-off points for energy-saving lamps. And most citizens will not go to the other end of the city to hand over one lamp for recycling. Therefore, in many settlements there are special courier services that collect burnt out or broken luminescent devices. Phone numbers of such companies can be found on the Internet. Couriers come on call and pick up failed energy-saving lamps.

You can also contact the house management with a request to put special containers next to the garbage bins.

Some community members organize the collection of products containing mercury. To do this, they install small containers and then hand over the products themselves to state recycling points.

However, there are companies that charge money for such services, so only large companies work directly with them. industrial enterprises. You can hand over failed energy-saving lamps at battery collection points. They are properly disposed of there. It is much easier to negotiate with management in order to give products to a full-time electrician. His responsibilities include the transfer of lamps for further disposal.

Disposal features

Before throwing garbage, it must be sorted. You can't put it in one bucket food waste, batteries and used energy-saving lamps. They are packed in separate sealed bags. If there are no special containers nearby, then you can collect several lamps and then take them to collection points. If the product burned out and crashed at home, you can call the rescue service. Specialists will help to establish the level of security in the apartment and process the place of contact of the surface with a broken fluorescent lamp. It must not be thrown into the general waste chute. There is very little mercury in products, but it can accumulate in landfills in dangerous amounts, which will negatively affect the environment.

Where to take energy-saving light bulbs after use?

What to do if an energy-saving light bulb breaks at home?

If an energy-saving lamp breaks at home, you should immediately isolate the room from people and animals. It is enough to transfer them to another room. Next, you need to close the door to a dangerous room or tightly drape the inlet with curtains. In this case, mercury will not spread throughout the house. In the room where the lamp broke, you need to open the window for 20-30 minutes. During this time, toxic fumes will disappear from the room. It is important not to allow a draft so that the wind does not blow the fragments everywhere. To collect the fragments of the lamp, you need to attach a damp cloth or gauze bandage to your face, and put on rubber gloves on your hands. Take two pieces of thick cardboard. One will be used instead of a scoop, the other is raked up by fragments. They are poured into a jar of water or in a sealed package, then put into a trash bag. If there is a carpet in the room, it should be shaken out in the open air and hung on the balcony for several hours to air out. The floors are thoroughly washed with potassium permanganate or bleach. After completing these steps, you need to call the Housing Office or the Ministry of Emergencies and clarify what to do with the fragments. Energy-saving lamps contain much less mercury than thermometers. There is approximately 30 mg of poisonous substance inside luminescent products. In energy-saving lamps - only 5 mg, and in a thermometer almost 100 times more. Therefore, even if the fragments hit the carpet or floor, knocking out, ventilating the room and disinfecting the surfaces in it is enough to prevent the spread of toxic fumes. Many cities have special brigades who come on call, check an apartment or house for toxicity and pick up lamp fragments for disposal. If such services are not available, then you need to call the housing office or repair companies. Energy-saving products operate on mercury vapor. Despite minimal amount in lamps of hazardous substances, they can cause serious poisoning if the protective sheath (glass) is damaged. Poor-quality products that have lasted less than 6-12 months can be returned back to the store. This will solve the problem of how to dispose of the lamp yourself. You need to do this yourself only if the product burned out or crashed after the expected period of operation. Lamps must not be thrown away with others household waste, since mercury vapor enters the atmosphere, they even seep through the ground. As a result, everyone who will be near this place will have to inhale the poisoned air. From this, the kidneys, respiratory organs, and heart fail. Let's prevent this together by responsibly disposing of hazardous waste. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfFi6aRIOQQ

The accession of the Russian Federation to the European initiative for the transition to energy-saving technologies since 2009 and the ban on incandescent lamps as inefficient and costly light sources has led to the emergence of Russian market compact fluorescent lamps points. During this time, the light sources managed to change several times in the chandeliers, and then the question arises of where to put the CFL that has served its time. Everyone probably knows the answer - to dispose of, but not everyone knows how to do it correctly. Next, we will talk about the rules for the disposal of fluorescent lamps at the enterprise and at home.

Rules for the delivery of used light bulbs

It is simply forbidden to throw these lamps into the trash can, because. in the production of luminescent light sources are used toxic substances: mercury, zinc, phosphates, for which special measures are required for disposal.

To get rid of a used flask, it must be taken to special items admission to the PRUE or DEZ. You can find out about the availability of such points in your city on the city portal.

If for household consumers there is no regulation on the disposal of used CFLs and only hope for the conscientiousness and awareness of people, then for legal entities and entrepreneurs this item is spelled out in the law.

Enterprises using fluorescent lamps must conclude an agreement for the disposal of already used specialized organizations licensed to dispose and recycle toxic waste. In turn, the firms providing services must provide a special sealed container for use.

The cost of recycling can reach up to 10-13 rubles (price per piece), and a one-year contract with an organization and document management up to 3,000 rubles, plus container rental and transportation. For non-compliance with the law on the disposal of fluorescent lamps, a fine is provided, for individuals 1-2 thousand rubles for a light bulb thrown into the trash can.

For legal entities the fine is much higher, up to an administrative suspension of activities for a period of 90 days. In case of repeated violation, up to criminal liability. According to Art. 8.2 of the RF Code of Administrative Offenses.

By the way, it is not at all necessary to dispose of non-working housekeepers. Sometimes they can be easily repaired with your own hands. We have provided instructions in the corresponding article.

Storage Requirements

It is clear that you will not carry each burned-out light bulb one by one to the company for recycling. It is advisable to equip a separate place for storing spent energy-saving light sources. So according to requirements public services, storage of fluorescent lamps must be carried out taking into account the following rules:

  1. Each individual flask must be placed in a cardboard container, while fluorescent bulbs must be sorted by size.
  2. The room should be remote from workplaces, while being well ventilated and spacious. You also need to make sure that unauthorized persons do not have access to the place of storage of housekeepers.
  3. The room must be equipped with all necessary facilities for demercurization (removal of mercury).

Responsibility is also provided for improper storage of energy-saving lamps, therefore it is strictly forbidden to store bulbs in bulk!

What to do if the flask breaks at home?

Modern CFLs do not contain a drop of mercury, but only its vapor, which confirms the designation on the box:

Therefore, if you should not look for mercury on the floor, it is enough to remove glass fragments with a damp cloth or napkin, after putting on rubber gloves. Immediately remove children and animals from the premises, do not expose them to the danger of breathing mercury vapor. Fragments that have fallen on carpets should never be collected with a vacuum cleaner, as it will aggravate the situation and become a source of contamination with hazardous substances. In this case, ordinary packing tape will help, with the sticky side collecting fragments from a broken flask. You need to collect garbage in a glass jar or bag along with a rag and mittens, and then hand it over to a specialized collection point.

You must know that the penetration of mercury into the body most often occurs through the inhalation of vapors. At high concentrations, it affects the central nervous system, liver, musculoskeletal system. After cleaning the glass, it is enough to ventilate the room for at least two hours.


What are light bulbs?

Modern light sources can be divided into dangerous and safe for disposal. Safe bulbs include incandescent, halogen and LED bulbs. The age of popularity of incandescent lamps is coming to an end due to their inefficiency and short service life, however, Russia is slowly switching to energy-saving light bulbs, using Ilyich's light bulb "in the old fashioned way".

The Russians are distrustful of the presence of mercury in the body of energy-saving lamps and the specifics of their light. LED lamps are by far the most environmentally friendly, but they do not attract buyers with a high price (only 4-6% of the Russian lighting market).


You can throw out such light bulbs with ordinary garbage, as they are made from safe materials, and the concentration of halogens is negligible. It is worth noting that light bulbs are not suitable for disposal in glass containers because they have a different structure than bottle glass.


Dangerous lamps. These are energy-saving (fluorescent) light bulbs. They consume much less electricity than incandescent lamps (about 5 times less, with a service life 10 times longer). However, such lamps, having worked out their life, pose a powerful threat to environment due to the content of mercury in one of the components of the structure - the phosphor (from 5 mg to 1 gram). What to do with them? Such lamps must be handed over to specialized collection points.


How to properly dispose of a dangerous lamp and what will happen to it next?

You can hand over energy-saving and just mercury lamps at any dez in your area, they are required to accept them in accordance with the decree of the Government of Moscow.

Please note that not all organizations do this for free. You can also return light bulbs to IKEA Khimki for free. It is necessary to transport light bulbs carefully, although it is quite difficult to break it. Avoid sudden drops and impacts of lamps.

What is the fate of mercury lamps after you put them in the collection point container? Lamps are sent to specialized recycling centers.

“The lamp is divided into components: base, glass, phosphor,” explains Konstantin Tinyakov, specialist of the Ecotrom research and production enterprise. - Basement and glass are recycled. The phosphor is preserved in a special way and given to special organizations, which further expel mercury from it. The company recycles about 7 million of these lamps a year.”


Dangerous light bulb crashed: what to do?

We talked about the dangers of mercury in ours about broken thermometers. Toxic vapors of this metal, settling in the body, can cause chronic mercury intoxication: after some time, a metallic taste appears in the mouth, headaches, problems with the kidneys, skin, and teeth.

How to clean a broken mercury light bulb? The first step is to open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes. Then, after putting on disposable polyethylene gloves, carefully collect the fragments with stiff paper and place them in plastic bag(to collect small fragments, you can use adhesive tape or a sponge, which later also must be placed in a plastic bag). After that, carry out a wet cleaning of the room.

What can not be done? Use a vacuum cleaner, brush, broom. It is also not worth dumping mercury-containing waste into sewers or garbage chutes.

Can't collect mercury yourself? Call the Emergency Squad single number 112 s mobile phones or 01 - from urban.

Moscow has become one of the most environmentally friendly regions of Russia. And Muscovites can help her maintain this status. How to sort garbage yourself and where to take it hazardous waste, read and watch on the Moscow 24 portal.

Recycling in Butovo

The fashion for separate waste collection has come to Russia quite recently: multi-colored waste bins are just beginning to appear on the streets. different types garbage. In the regions, not everyone knows and understands how it works and why it is important to sort it.

Moscow is paying more attention to this issue. This is also why the capital was in 7th place in the environmental rating of the country's regions in the summer of 2017. It was published by the all-Russian public organization"Green Patrol".

For example, residents of the Northern and Southern Butovo districts united and created the Our Butovo community. Its active participants organize actions on separate collection waste and hold meetings with well-known environmental activists. In addition, neighbors help each other in everyday matters, inform each other about lost or found things, and simply share local news.

Where to dispose of hazardous waste

If you care about the planet, you must have come across the fact that collection points miscellaneous waste not so easy to find.

In 2015, the Moscow authorities launched a map with the location of places where you can donate light bulbs, batteries, plastic and waste paper.

light bulbs

Fluorescent lamps contain toxic chemicals. IKEA, for example, offers a recycling service for store-bought light bulbs. You can also bring light bulbs to one of the Globus supermarkets or to the Kuskovo eco-school, an interactive environmental education center dealing with ecology and environmental protection.

LED light bulbs are safe and recyclable just like incandescent bulbs - pay attention to the packaging.

Photo: TASS/DPA/Julian Stratenschulte

Engineering and electronics

Your computer is broken or landline phone? No need to take them to a landfill: this waste contains dangerous substances- mercury, lead, cadmium, beryllium, not to mention such valuable metals as gold, silver and platinum.

It is better to find an electronics recycling organization and even get a symbolic monetary reward for this.

For more information on where to put old or broken equipment, see the Moscow 24 portal.

Glass

Waste glass containers are collected by Ecoline. Throughout Moscow, you can find containers or offices of the organization. Glass bottles can also be brought to one of the activists' collection points in the Strogino, Ramenki, Nagorny, Brateevo and Tushino districts.