News and Media

Carelessly disposed of fluorescent light globes are an eventual source of mercury pollution. Image: iStockphoto

Next Time You Throw Away Your Old Light Globes, Think About Where They Could End Up

What happens to your old light globes after they give up the ghost? Well, it all depends on what you do with them. And depending on the type of light globe, what you decide to do is quite important. If you are like most Australians, your old light globes will go into your rubbish bin. For older style incandescent light globes that doesn’t present a significant environmental problem. It’s a bit of a waste of the metal and glass they are made from and it adds to landfill volume, but they don’t …

What In The World Are We Doing To Combat Mercury Pollution?

Nearly 60 years ago doctors in the Japanese city of Minamata started to see patients with unusual and distressing neurological symptoms that, in many cases, lead to death. After much investigation the cause was found to be the methyl-mercury that had been released into Minamata Bay by a chemical factory. There it was taken up by fish and shellfish that were consumed not just by humans, but cats, dogs and pigs. Both the company responsible and the Japanese government were very slow to act, and so…

The Next Time You Go To The Dentist, Make Sure You Ask This Question

Dental amalgam waste is believed to be one of the single largest sources of mercury pollutions in sewage and waste water in Australia. It comes from fillings that are being replaced and from the amalgam removed from new fillings as they are worked into shape. All up, it is estimated that in Australia alone, over four tonnes (pdf) of mercury goes down dentists’ drains each year. As Australia’s only EPA licensed mercury recycler, we know that only a small fraction of that mercury gets trapped a…

Recycle dirty nappies? Well, yes actually.

5 Gross Things You Probably Didn’t Know You Can Recycle

Recycling much of our waste is now second nature, but there’s a whole world of recyclables out there that can’t go into council bins. And brave companies are stepping up to the challenge of finding ways to recycle some pretty yucky items. So slip on some rubber gloves, clip on a nose peg and dive into our list of the yuckiest things you can recycle. #5: No More Flush In The Pan While you average toilet probably has less germs in it than your average dish cloth, we instinctively think of toilet…

One Thing Most Pregnant Women Don’t Realise About Eating Fish

Most people are aware that fish can be a significant source of mercury in our diets. What may be less well known is that children, and women of child-bearing age are most at risk from the effects of mercury. That being said, fish provide nutrients that are important during growth and development before birth, during breastfeeding, and on into childhood, so they are an important part of our diet. In June 2014, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency…

One Thing Everyone Should Read About Dental Fillings

We say a lot about the harm that mercury can cause, and why it’s a good thing to keep it out of our environment. You might have seen our article on mercury in fish with its link to a useful infographic that provides a nice little summary of why mercury is a bad guy in many situations. But there is one major area where mercury is the good guy, and that’s when it is used in dental fillings. Why Is Dental Amalgam So Good? Dental amalgam combines mercury, silver, tin and copper, with mercury ma…

What If 20 Million Light Globes Didn’t Have To End Up In Landfills Every Year?

In Australia it is estimated that over 20 million mercury-containing light bulbs, lamps and fluorescent tubes end up in landfill each year. There’s a real risk of that mercury leaking out of landfills and entering our environment, and as most of us know, mercury is dangerous stuff. So wouldn’t it be better if it didn’t end up in landfill? It may seem that each light globe doesn’t contain much mercury, but it really adds up. So if there is an easy way to properly dispose of your old compact fl…

Image: http://www.fix.com/blog/mercury-rising-infographic/

Which Fish Have The Lowest Mercury Levels?

We all know that eating fish is good for us, right? Rich in omega 3s (good for the heart), packed full of protein and delicious to boot, what’s not to love? Well, some types of fish can accumulate quite high levels of mercury, and that’s not so good for us. The question then becomes, which fish are safest to eat? Fortunately there’s a really handy infographic that provides a useful guide. It also explains where most of that mercury comes from and how it gets into fish. Most importantly it …

Ecocycle Now Under New Ownership

The assets and business name Ecocycle have been purchased from the receivers of CMA Recycling, PPB, and the business is now under the management of Nick Dodd and Doug Rowe. Doug is the owner of Recycal, a leading Australian-based integrated recycling group that provides a range of recycling services to industry. As previous owners of Ecocycle we have been appalled at the way CMA have left the site and the equipment. Over $1 million of waste was left on the Campbellfield site and, in violation…

SA Power Networks Recycle Lighting With Ecocycle

SA Power Networks, formerly ETSA Utilities, is South Australia’s electricity distributor. Its street lighting is recycled with Ecocycle in Wingfield. Check the links below for more information: http://www.fluorocycle.org.au/cms/files/SA%20Power%20Networks%20Case%20Study.pdf http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/credit-for-fluoro-light-recycling/story-e6frea6u-1226312980244 http://www.ecosmagazine.com/?paper=EC12247 …

Amalgam separators capture mercury to keep it out of the environment

Amalgam Recovery In Action At The Royal Dental Hospital Of Melbourne

Originally known as the Melbourne Dental Hospital, The Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne has been operating since 1890, providing a variety of dental services to the public, including many decades of dental restorations using mercury-containing amalgam. Ecocycle discussed managing the dental amalgam waste from the Royal Melbourne Dental Hospital with Facilities Manager Paul Horsington. After a thorough system assessment, a proposal to handle the amalgam wastes was developed, approved and su…

Extreme Recycling: Toilets, Cigarette Butts And Dirty Nappies!

Our last couple of posts have looked at items that can be recycled in Australia. Meanwhile overseas, and even in space, some very unlikely items are getting the recycling treatment. Mind you, some of them require a pretty strong stomach. Recycling urine to recover water is nothing new for astronauts. But wouldn’t it be nice to achieve the feat without using any power? NASA has tested a solution that can also be used with any earthly source of dirty or contaminated water. Water recycling is…

More Recyclables: Plastic Bags, Printer Cartridges And Fridges

Following on from our last post, here are some more things you can recycle, but might overlook. Plastic shopping bags are a real problem. Carelessly discarded bags can end up in rivers and the ocean, and represent a major risk to wildlife. Most home recycling collection programs don’t accept plastic bags, but they are easy to recycle. First of all, reuse them until they no longer do their job, then bundle them up and drop them in the bag recycling bin at your nearest major supermarket. Some s…

How Do We Catch Up To The UK On Lamp Recycling?

If we want to see what is possible when it comes to fluorescent lamp recycling, the UK provides a good example. In 2008 23.2% of their light globes were recycled; last year it was nearly 40%. In Australia, it’s harder to come up with reliable numbers regarding the portion of lamps that are recycled. And many of the available figures don’t differentiate between those that contain mercury and those that don’t. Our best estimate is that around 10% of lamps get recycled, so we have a long way to …

Can Bricks, Spectacles And Houses Be Recycled? Yes

We are all pretty well aware of what we can put into our recycling bins – glass and plastic bottles, paper and cardboard, steel and aluminium cans. And because you are on our website, you’ll also know that we recycle fluorescent tubes and lamps, electronic waste, dental and medical waste, photographic and industrial waste and batteries. Our sister company, CMA Recycling, also recycles old cars and metals from all sorts of items. But there are a whole heap of other things that can be recycled.…

Vehicles are the biggest single market for lead acid batteries

Battery Recycling #4 – Lead-Acid Batteries

Lead-acid batteries sit under the bonnet of pretty much every car in the world, but we barely give them a thought unless they go flat. Each car battery contains about 12 kg of lead. With over one billion cars on the world’s roads, that’s around 12 million tonnes of lead in cars alone. On top of that, lead-acid batteries are also commonly used in remote area power supplies, for example as part of off-grid solar power systems, in submarines and in electric boats. Lead-acid batteries were invent…

Battery Recycling #3 – Lithium Battery Recycling

Lithium-based batteries began to appear in the scene in the 1970s, so are relative newcomers to the rechargeable battery line up. They come in a variety of chemistries, but the ones most of us encounter are lithium-ion and lithium polymer batteries. With good power to weight ratios, lithium batteries are taking over many applications previously dominated by nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal hydride batteries. Cameras, phones, tablet and laptop computers and electric cars are just a few of the pr…

Battery Recycling #2 – Nickel-Based Batteries

The main types of nickel-based batteries that most people will come across are nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cad) and nickel-metal hydride (NiMH). Although both types of battery can be used in industrial and heavy-duty applications, such as electric vehicles, aircraft standby batteries and for stationery power, their real popularity is for powering consumer items – cordless phones and drills, toys, portable sound systems and computers. A key attraction compared with cheaper types of household battery is th…

Battery Recycling #1 – Non-Rechargeable Household Batteries

We live in an electric world, and most of our electricity is delivered by wires. But if we want to access power away from an electricity socket, then by far the commonest way of doing so is to use batteries. Vast numbers of batteries are manufactured each year, and most of them end up in landfill. Some batteries contain toxic components such as lead, cadmium and mercury which can contaminate soil and water. Dumping batteries also represents a loss of useful resources that can be recovered by …

Everything You Wanted To Know About Mercury But Was Afraid To Ask

The United Nations Environment Program recently released a call to action Mercury – Time to Act. It contains a wealth of information about mercury, its impacts on humans and ecosystems, and a plan of action to continue to reduce the amount of mercury going into our environment. Who needs to act? The report identifies roles for governments, industries, NGOs and, of course, us as individuals. Globally, the annual volume of mercury that is mined each year has dropped from around 10,000 tonnes at…

How Recycling Your Computer Protects Your Privacy

Many studies have been conducted into the level of personal information that can be recovered from discarded or second hand computers and memory sticks. One Australian study found that most used memory cards purchased online had not been wiped, and around half contained information that could be used maliciously. Other researches have easily recovered data from dumped computers. Part of the problem stems from the fact that ‘deleting’ a file does not actually remove it from your computer or me…

Recycling Recovers Energy As Well As Materials

We all know that recycling is important because it means we recover valuable resources for reuse. This reduces the need to mine new materials and lowers pressure on the environment. But when things are recycled, it isn’t just the materials that are recovered, but also a lot of the energy that goes into making them. This is usually referred to as embodied energy, and the benefits flow when those recovered materials are turned into new products. Aluminium is a good example. It takes a huge amou…

Sydney Opera House Recycles Its Lamps, Old Mines Leak Mercury And Other Mercury News

It’s great to see that the Sydney Opera House has joined the FluoroCycle program and will recycle its fluorescent lights. The Opera House is just one of several organisations to sign up for the program, and their actions will help to keep substantial amounts of mercury out of the environment. A recent article on Sustainable Suburbia points out that old-style incandescent light bulbs can have a mercury “footprint” greater than that of equivalent fluoro lamps. Coal-fired power stations can emit…

Mercury Recycling Reduces Mine Risks

We talk a lot about how mercury recycling leads to a cleaner environment by reducing the amount of mercury containing waste that gets thrown away, but recycling also reduces the environmental contamination associated with mining mercury-containing ore (see image) in the first place. Writing in Waste Management World, Christer Sundberg of Swedish company MRT System International AB examines some of the issues.…

How To Clean Up Broken Compact Fluorescent Lamps Or Tubes

The Federal Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency recommends the following procedure for dealing with broken compact fluorescent lamps, tubes and other mercury-containing lamps. Whilst the Department states that short term nature of the potential exposure (particularly after effective clean-up of broken CFL material) does not constitute a significant health risk to exposed adults (including pregnant women) or children, following these simple and straightforward clean up and dispo…

How Many Ways Can You Spell “Fluorescent”?

We admit it. Fluorescent is a horrible word to spell. No wonder people shorten it to fluoro or, quite sensibly in our opinion, fluro. Not surprisingly, flourescent and flouro turn up quite a bit, but the easy way to remember that this is wrong is that flour is the white stuff we make cakes and bread with. It doesn't stop there. There is a huge range of other types of lighting, from the halogen downlightrs that are so popular through to modern LEDs. Street lighting is often provided by mercury…