Robe575xt Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Hi, As part of our centers environmental policy we aim to recycle as many of the lamps we use as possible, at present this only covers fluorescent tube lights and the Sodium lamps from the Car Park. Recently we have re-lamped our old dis-used PAR 64 Cans and I now have a whole load of old PAR lamps to dispose of. I would like to recycle these PAR lamps if possible otherwise they will have to go in the skip, so I was just wandering what any of you guys do with regards to recycling old theater and/or PAR lamps as I am sure this is a common problem most of us that run venues or hire companies will/have come across. Many thanks, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingertech_2000 Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 try ringing the manufacturer to see if they have a safe disposal policy or alternatively just go to your local glass recycling point at the local tip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidLee Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 try ringing the manufacturer to see if they have a safe disposal policy or alternatively just go to your local glass recycling point at the local tipI would expect that the envelope of a PAR will be borosilicate glass ("pyrex"). This has a much higher melting temperature than normal bottle glass (soda glass) and should not be put in normal glass recycling bins. Unless your recycling point has a special pyrex bin, borosilicate glass is normally sent to landfill. Best idea is to ask the lamp manufacturer about possible recycling. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David A Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 I'm pretty sure its ordinary glass, it certainly breaks like ordinary glass where pyrex shatters to thousands of pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidLee Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 I'm pretty sure its ordinary glass, it certainly breaks like ordinary glass where pyrex shatters to thousands of pieces. No. That is due to the toughening process. I can assure you that "Pyrex" borosilicate laboratory glassware shatters just like any other glass if you drop it. I lost enough of my undergraduate lab deposit to learn this the hard way! GE describes the envelope of PAR lamps as "HRG" or "Heat-resistant glass" with a high thermal shock resistance. This must be borosilicate. The problem is that even a small proportion of scrap borosilicate added to a melt will have a large effect on the viscosity, which is very bad news for a glass manufacturer. Confusingly Pyrex kitchenware is rarely made from traditional "Pyrex" glass but from soda lime glass. The real McCoy can be put straight on a hob or open flame, whereas most Pyrex brand cookware will shatter if you try it. I think that Pyrex relaunched their original domestic borosilicate product as "Pyroflam" although laboratory Pyrex glassware continued to be made from borosilicate. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wuddy Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Electric lamps of all kinds must now be disposed of in accordance with the WEEE Regulations and can no longer be disposed of as general waste. If you notice lamp cartons have a picture of a crossed out wheely bin. Domestic users can take lamps to their local waste disposal site, commercial/industrial users must go to a licensed operator and raise an audit trail. The electrical wholesalers City Electrical Factors Ltd have a nation wide WEEE disposal scheme, small quantaties can be taken to branches or for large users CEF Ltd can provide bins on site, obviously they charge for the service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfmjohn Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 I'd have to agree with the idea of contacting the manufacturer of the lamps. Under EU rules the electrical & electronics waste legislation says that suppliers must provide methods of recycling all electronic & electrical goods. (WEEE legislation or similar, cant remember atm, but it will come back to me :D ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Beesley Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 Assuming they are GE Branded lamps have a peek HERE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 Assuming they are GE Branded lamps have a peek HEREFollowing a link on the GE page takes you to RECOLIGHT, which looks like it is a cost-free (to the end user*) solution. *of course the cost is added to the purchase price, but that is hair-splitting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robe575xt Posted October 18, 2007 Author Share Posted October 18, 2007 Hi, It would appear that PAR 64 lamps are not covered under the WEE regulations, I have had this confirmed by RecoLight and several of the companies that handle the recyling on reco lights behalf. It would appear that the WEE regs only currently cover Metal Halide derivatives, Flourescent Lamps and also High Pressure sodium varieties. So after discussions with the local authority who incedently wouldn't take them either I have been forced to throw the whole lot in the skip, I did try brekaing a few to see if I could easily seperate the recylable glass from the front of the units but this proved to difficult and time consuming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.