India consumes a few hundred million energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps every year and the volumes are growing. This is welcome news not just for the lighting industry, which places the number of pieces manufactured in 2010 at around 304 million, but also for climate change mitigation efforts. Yet this also presents a waste management challenge. The problem with fluorescent lamps is that they contain small amounts of mercury. Unfortunately, India has not evolved a good system to recover this hazardous heavy metal from end-of-life lamps. Moreover, the trend is towards dosing CFLs made in India with levels of mercury that exceed the international norm, apparently to improve their performance. A recent study by Toxics Link, a non-governmental organisation, indicates that mercury levels in domestic CFLs may even be four to six times the norm in developed countries. The issue was acknowledged by the Central Pollution Control Board three years ago. Since disused CFL and mercury-laden lamps, and fluorescent tubes, are generally dumped in municipal waste or sold to unorganised recyclers, there is harmful release of mercury into the soil, water, and air. This is happening in spite of the forward-looking “Guidelines for Environmentally Sound Mercury Management in the Fluorescent Lamp Sector” the Board issued in 2008.
Mercury can cause serious, well-recognised health effects when there is chronic exposure. Permanent damage to skin, eyes, and respiratory tract and other symptoms are caused upon skin contact, inhalation of vapour, or ingestion. The onus is on the State Pollution Control Boards, which are responsible for the handling and management of hazardous waste, to ensure that environmental exposure to this toxic chemical is eliminated. The imperative is to reduce the amount of mercury that goes into CFLs through standards and regulatory controls and enforce the principle of extended producer responsibility for the collection and disposal of waste. This cannot be achieved without the active involvement of municipal authorities, manufacturers, and the trade. The way forward would be to provide a financial incentive to consumers for turning in old mercury lamps of all types, particularly conventional fluorescent tube lights and CFLs, and to ensure their scientific disposal through a network of authorised recyclers. Such a system can succeed because there is greater awareness of negative externalities among consumers today. For instance, shoppers are willing to pay extra for plastic bags as required by the new Environment Ministry rules; many use their own bags. In the case of used light bulbs, consumers stand to gain if the rewards-based system is introduced. Recycling mercury lamps should be an environmental priority.
Keywords: fluorescent lamps, lighting industry, CFL, mercury lamps, energy saving, mercury
The editorial mentions Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). This is an important aspect in safe disposal of hazardous waste. It is time the producers take ownership of their products at the end of its life. When the producers have systems for marketing and distribution of their products, the same should be established for collection and disposal as well. Manufacturers, municipality and the public should work together on this. This concept of EPR should apply to all manufacturers whose end of life products effect the environment -lighting equipment,packaging material, batteries.
This is an important issue which needs looked into urgently.
Similarly another waste that has a polluting effect on the environment are the batteries. There is an explosion of devices which use batteries of different chemicals, size and shapes over the last decade. Recently in the UK, as per the European regulations, they have made is mandatory for any shops that sell batteries to have facility to return used batteries and it works very well.
These kind of articles would make more sense if also accompanied by information on where these bulbs could be deposited for recycling. In Europe, citizens are not only aware of environmental issues, but are also supported by the necessary physical infrastructures and information in order to help a cause.
The article is written as if the author is suggesting some measures for the authorities. In addition, I would like to see in the article, what a common person can do for efficient recycling. For example, a mention of places which are meant for keeping the consumed fluorescent lamps. If people are educated about such things as well, at lease a few will start doing recycling. It is also responsibility of the consumers to dispose responsibly.
This editorial is an excellent eye opener .Gaseous mercury used in fluorescent tubes and light.Electricity with merury vapor in a phosphor tube prduces visible light.Mercury has extemely poisoning effect.History says -mercury compounds were dumped into Minamata Bay,Japan.Around 3000 people suffered to have deformities and death.This is known as Minamata disease.Mercury poisoning effects nervous system .It causes deformities of hands and feet.Also vision,hearing,speech are impaired.Even it causes congenital diseases in babies in the womb.Chest pain,difficulty in breathing,blood vomitng may occur.Mercury is a useful element in many industries .We must be aware of its poisoning effects and government must take necessary measures for safe disposal.
Its the Government and the people who can make it to go on positive note if speak about its Use & Disposal. As plastic was exampled in the context, same thing need to be imposed in ears to make people aware of the harms of Toxins generated from Bulbs. There are so many other commercially used items which are of importance to make people & government aware of its adverse affects. If government can't then some NGO has to take part in the initiative to bring forward the message & way to do so among the masses.
NRCan did a study on how much mercury is actually in CFLs, and compares them to other typical consumer sources (e.g., watch batteries--if you throw one of them out, you've throw out five times as much mercury as in a CFL)
India should adopt Re-manufacturing concept just like Japanese have done to recycle electronic items like refrigerators,Televisions,Washing machines,mobile phones etc.We need to put into practice the 5R concept which refers to Rethink, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle and Repair rather than just stopping at Recycle.
Most of the times issues pertaining to environment are like a double-edged sword, as is the case here. The top priority in using Cf Ls and fluorescent tubes is to minimize the carbon foot print, which in turn will cater to a larger environmental purpose, than to worry about organized and safe diffusal of toxic waste emanated from mercury-laden bulbs. In this case the long-term benefit - of reducing the carbon foot print by using CFLs - has over shadowed the immediate negative consequences that it will have on living beings in particular and environment in general. In order to solve this we have to look at the root of the problem; that is to meet energy demands of the current civilization economically along with low impact on carbon foot print. This could be made by harnessing reliable energy like solar energy. Solar energy not only has negligent carbon foot print but also has less impact on environment when it comes to waste management of the equipment/device used to harness it.
Compact Fluorescent Lamps are energy efficient in comparison with Fl. tube lights and incandecent bulbs and quality branded products must have a good life period. In developed countries the switch over is already done and in India transfer is now gaining momentum. There must be a quality check and price control for these products to curb spurious products. Disposal of fused lamps of all sorts is important like any other computer hardware and other non degradable debris. Cenrtal govt. must arrange best waste disposal systems to all municipalities & panchayats for proper and uniform disposal.
LEDs are not a panacea. Contrary to what some may believe, LEDs
require proper heat dissipation (at comparable illumination levels) to
operate at the right operating parameters - thermal runaway is a
serious cause of poor lifetime. This is not an easy task to design and
in fact implement in households, in a warm, humid country such as
ours.
Corruption free, efficient monitoring and enforcement of even existing
rules is one of the key requirements to remove toxic wastes in any
society. This applies to not just e-Waste but to general waste
disposal and just about anything one can think of ranging from
construction to driving to what not...
The government should look into the issue of waste disposal seriously. We in India lacks scientific waste disposal system.Domestic waste, hospital wastes are disposed off carelessly. This may eventually create serious environment problems. Consequently it will prove to be a threat to public health.
The Editorial is timely and thought provoking. We are realizing every day that most of the environmental issues are so complex that any remedial action on one end can have an adverse affect at some other end. Energy conservation has been accepted as an important step towards climate change mitigation through carbon emission reduction. Through government subsidy and vigorous awareness campaigns, CFLs have found their ways into every household replacing ordinary bulbs . But that has opened up new problems of mercury pollution. Now most of the electric light companies manufacture CFLs and it appears that there is no effective quality control of their products, as evidenced by the short life of these lights, contrary to the impression created in the beginning. The result is that more and more used CFLs end up in the waste yards polluting the land, soil and water. This has become as serious a problem as E-wastes which contain many more toxic metals.
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Even though a good climate change mitigation item is inline, the efforts to minimise,let alone eliminate, such a potential danger through corrective steps is nowhere in sight. Kudos to Hindu for bringing up this issue in limelight. As is evident, technology comes up with its own fallacies too, but it is upto mankind how to minimise their effects. Hopefully, efforts shall be taken by the concerned agencies in the right direction, before this becomes a menace.
we are in an extreme exigence of a power shortage and CFl's can be a miniscule panacea for it. but everything has its own demerit, here be the case of efficiency parameter in the production processes or the hazardous wastage of the toxic element mercury. the pivotal question is that do we need to sacrifice our development for the cause of poverty alleviation or is it that we need to compromise the sanity of out natural resources for the cause of the masses. what we need is proper facade which can take both these thermas in a salubrious mix.
Volumes are written about safe disposal of wastes but the governments efforts are not sufficient to collect the garbage and properly dispose it. We generate so much of waste we may drown in it sooner. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle were the words on display in one Supermarket. At least part of the garbage is carried from cities and towns and dumped in some areas (but creating problems to residents living around those areas)whereas in villages garbage is thrown everywhere without the panchayats making efforts to clear it.
The editorial is timely and appropriate. The solution to the problem has to start at the source - the factories in India or overseas. Not all CFLs are made in India, some are made, some are partially or fully imported and many are branded. Imports must be made to comply with standards as much as local manufacturers need to comply. The Bureau of Indian Standards and the Industry Association (ELCOMA), and through them the Trade must formulate and implement a practical approach and a workable action plan. They must also be charged with its implementation. Seminars, and lectures are not enough. The consumer must be made aware. May be marking on the packages would help. Dealers must be made aware and must have the incentive to collect used lamps. Your suggestion of an incentive to the consumer is indeed a workable approach for the recovery of a hazardous metal from polluting our cities, the environment,the air we breathe,food we eat, the water that we drink etc. Much more needs to be done.
Use of compact florescent lamp is hazardous because of not proper recycling system is present. Company who manufacture CFL not mentioned its recycling process on packets and consumer not know how its waste product is recycled.It is very hazardous for human life as well as our environmental safety.
The environmental ethics which have been preached by THE HINDU are splendid.I think that indigenous industry may be promoted for the same.
Redemption vouchers could be issued to the bulb returnees by the shop keepers ( issued to them by the manufacturers ) so that the same could be used for discount purchase of CFL bulbs. This mode of incentivization would encourage the CFL users. Also the municipal authorities would need to collect the returned bulbs and dispose them off scientifically.
The states worst affected by Power Shortage should install free of cost LED lamps in each house to save energy and environment . The manufacturers of LED should undertake the job of not only replacement of CFL and ensure scientific disposal and recycling Municipalities and Corporations should undertake this on War footing taking advantage of the awareness of negative externalities among consumers . SAVE EEEs , ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT and EXPENSES.
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