When it comes to saving the environment, every little bit
counts, and an Ontario
business is making the world a better place one light bulb at a time. For the
past 12 years, Fluorescent Lamp Recyclers has been
recycling fluorescent bulbs with a 98% efficiency rate. Pretty impressive when
you consider they recycle approximately four million bulbs a year.
With Ontario
bringing in new legislation for higher efficiency lights, incandescent bulbs
will soon be a thing of the past. Since incandescent bulbs don't contain
mercury, but fluorescent bulbs do, will we be swapping electrical savings for
toxic waste? Not if we're smart about it.
According to Tom Maxwell, President of Fluorescent
Lamp Recyclers, their process ensures that:
-
Glass gets recycled into fiber glass
-
Aluminum is cleaned and sent to smelters for
recycling
-
Mercury, which attaches to calcium phosphate
(the white powder inside the bulb) is recycled into new products, like the next
generation of fluorescent bulbs
-
Calcium phosphate is used in plastics or
pigments
That's the good news. The bad news? In Ontario, "We're pretty much it," Maxwell
says. Quebec and British
Columbia each have a similar recycling facility, but Canada
has 10 provinces and three territories.
By my count we're several recycling facilities shy. Maybe
it's time to shed some light on the issue for Mr. Harper
- he's obviously in the dark when it comes to eco-friendly initiatives.
Charmian Christie,
Outdoor Adventure Expert