Most people don’t know it, but it is both possible and desirable to recycle lighting waste in Australia.
Much of our lighting – fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and some types of high intensity lamps – contains mercury.
If these lights are not recycled, that mercury ends up polluting our environment.
Aside from the toxic material in some lamps, all lighting contains glass and metals – highly recyclable materials that should be used to produce new items rather than being dumped in landfill.
So, where can you recycle lighting in Australia?
It all depends on how much lighting waste you need to recycle.
Households and small businesses
If you only have a handful of globes or tubes to dispose of you can find lighting recycling collection points are recyclingnearyou.com.au.
Some retailers, including IKEA, accept lighting for recycling.
Many local councils have collection bins at convenient locations, such as council facilities, but it’s worth checking first what can be left where.
For example, some councils may accept CFLs at their offices, but fluorescent tubes may need to be taken to depots and waste transfer stations.
Also check for any limits on quantities.
Medium-sized organisations
If your organisation generates enough lighting waste to regularly fill a medium-sized carton, you can recycle directly from your workplace.
That’s right, you don’t need to go anywhere.
Simply order one of our prepaid collection boxes. Once it’s full, give us a call and we’ll come and pick it up.
It really is that easy.
Big end of town
If you’re a property manager or electrical contractor that needs to dispose of thousands of tubes and light globes, we’ve got you covered.
We can provide a range of collection bins – all delivered and picked up from your premises anywhere in Australia – that scale to whatever volume of waste you generate.
No excuses to start recycling
With lighting recycling solutions for everyone, there really is no excuse for dumping lighting waste into landfill.
In fact, many states have either banned lighting waste from landfill, or are heading down that path.
So, spread the word to friends, family, colleagues and anyone who will listen – we can all recycle lighting, and it’s really easy to do so.
If you fall into the ‘medium’ and ‘large’ categories of lighting waste generators, give us a call on 1300 32 62 92 or fill out the form below.
The sooner we talk, the greater the amount of lighting waste that we can safely recycle back into new products, and the greater the environmental benefit we can deliver.
