[Question] How to recycle Energy saving light globes?

[King]

Hello to everyone,
im an electrician from germany so please sorry if my english is not correct...

My question is what to do with the energy saving light globes, how to recycle?

Thanks for your help.

[murdock]

you can take them to your local builders express if they have a recycle bin for this type of lamp or if you take them to your local electrical wholesaler they sometimes have a special bin...by the way for those who dont know...thowing them into the bin so they break is not the idea...they should only be broken once put into a special vessel.

[AndyD]

Hi King, welcome to TFSA.

Most people I know just throw them in the trash. It's a trade off, either dump carbon into the atmosphere by driving to a special collection point of put trace amounts of mercury into the ground when they end up at the local land-fill if you throw them in the trash. With the price of petrol and lack of time it's an easy decision for most.

[King]

That what im scared of, that people throw it in the trash...
it should be recycled, so the "green" energy savers actually not good for the nature!

[Dave A]

It's a trade off, either dump carbon into the atmosphere by driving to a special collection point of put trace amounts of mercury into the ground when they end up at the local land-fill if you throw them in the trash.

Makes you wonder what the carbon footprint would add up to compared to the "energy inefficient" incandescent light bulb if we all did the right thing

[AndyD]

That what im scared of, that people throw it in the trash...
it should be recycled, so the "green" energy savers actually not good for the nature!

You're right, they're not good for the environment but neither is burning fossil fuels whilst driving to a recycling depot.

It's business politics. The ideal solution would be to remove built-in obsolescence from all consumer products. Energy saving lamps are designed to last a certain length of time. This lifespan is carefully calculated by the manufacturers along with their pricing points. They don't want it to fail under warranty but they certainly don't want it to last ten years either because this would have a negative effect on sales volumes. In the last two/three decades products from the far East have amplified this issue, the product price has dropped to the end user by 50% perhaps but the product lifespan has dropped by 70% in some items. Allowing the manufacturers to decide the lifespan of products has a massive cost to the environment. As long as consumers have a 'cheapest price' mentality when purchasing the only way around this I can see is with legislation.

[Dave A]

As long as consumers have a 'cheapest price' mentality when purchasing the only way around this I can see is with legislation.

Can I suggest that legislation should always be a last resort when it comes to prescriptive issues. Legislation should prevent harmful conduct, not enforce best practice. The moment you go beyond "bare minimum standards", the unintended consequences count starts climbing and most often you only end up placing the diligent at a disadvantage to the unscrupulous.

I've been a firm believer for some years now that before you resort to legislation, one should give education a really good crack first if you want to adjust social norms.

[Justloadit]

Dave, can not agree with you more on legislation. The more legislation gets implemented, the slower systems seem to move, its like a growing iceberg, and we are the Titanic, it can only go one way, yes there will be a few survivors, but the ship goes down.

[murdock]

the problem seems to be education....a lack of it and sliding.

it seems the educated people have left the buildings....at least some have realised this and are advertising to try encourage some to go bac.

one of my gripes at the moment...are the fully rigged brilliant training centres (appy schools) which are sitting empty with all the facilities just the lecturers missing....hello we are talking goverment facilities...its not like they have to spend money buying buildings and equipment....its all there...maybe thats where i am missing the boat....its not about the facilities...its about the kickback for the new building... tender... etc which some family member would miss out on...and this is just how i see it watch it going on everyday on the news.

[AndyD]

Can I suggest that legislation should always be a last resort when it comes to prescriptive issues. Legislation should prevent harmful conduct, not enforce best practice. The moment you go beyond "bare minimum standards", the unintended consequences count starts climbing and most often you only end up placing the diligent at a disadvantage to the unscrupulous.

I've been a firm believer for some years now that before you resort to legislation, one should give education a really good crack first if you want to adjust social norms.

How would you propose to educate customers to buy longer lasting products if they cost double the price? How would you educate manufacturers to built longevity into their products at the cost of sales volumes? This problem has been around for decades and the only thing that's going to have an effect on the status quo is when the raw materials get scarcer but then it's too late.

[Dave A]

How would you propose to educate customers to buy longer lasting products if they cost double the price?

How much extra would it cost to make a CFL that lasted twice as long as the current "standard"?

And as for buying at double the price, I do it all the time when it's worth it - and I wouldn't be surprised if you do too. Take anyone that buys a Hilti power tool as example - quite often you can buy a cheap "equivalent" at less than half the cost, but is it a real saving when the cheapie breaks within months and the Hilti goes on for years?

So yes, I think consumers can be educated. It just takes some exposure of the issue.

In fact - come to think of it - let's talk shoes! I've seen people who don't earn big money buying real quality stuff because they know it lasts.

The starting point is trying to get the issue front-of-mind.

[Justloadit]

The example with shoes is good, if I buy a cheap pair, which I can get for R60, my feet sweat, and I throw them away after I have used them for about 8 to 10 times (approximately 10 hours a time), because they begin to smell. Now if I buy a good quality pair for around R450.00, they last more than a year, or and also my feet are comfy, do not smell and saves me a trip to the shoe store every month

[AndyD]

I think the shoes point goes more to fashion and buying into a brand, quality might be a spin-off of this but I would question that quality was the clincher on which shoes were bought and especially so with takkies.

I agree there are consumers who have learned the hard way and yes I spend a fortune on my tools to get quality. With many items there isn't much option though especially at the domestic consumer end of the market. Take household appliances, name me a brand of steam iron or pop-up toaster that consistently lasts more than a year with normal use. Another example is the far East mopeds and scooters that were all the rage recently. Buy a VUKA or Moto Mia and the corrosion starts in earnest the moment it leaves the showroom. Yeah, you can buy a 100cc scooter for under R10,000.00 but show me one with 30 thousand clicks on the clock that still runs reliably. Even show me one that went through the warranty period without problems and I'll be surprised.

[Justloadit]

Who bares the cost of the warranty?

The manufacturer is far away, and to get something out of them is like pulling hens teeth. So in the end the consumer lands up footing the bill, because the local supplier goes bust due to loses in keeping up with the warranties. A no win situation. But consumers do not learn, they will again buy cheapie stuff.

I must be honest, there are occasions I buy the cheapie stuff, and simply put is that I only may use it once in it's life and it solves my problem then it has done it's job.

Now if I am looking for a tool for my profession, I look for quality and after sales service before I buy any specific brand.

[King]

What i think is... that the energy savers are not have a long life, i think the LED lights will take over the world and they not dangerous for us all... or?