Recycling Projector Lamps

The electronics industry faces a barrage of criticism to make itself more environmentally friendly - reduction of toxins, recycled content such as mercury and heavy metals, expended-product management and factory take-back.

Given these new standards for greenness, the replacement lamps/bulbs (for projectors) industry must process arc tubes with mercury as part of its recycling priorities.

Common awareness of a future negative effect on the environment is increasing. Reputable lamp/bulb distributors such as allprojectorlamps.com and manufacturers realize they have to step up to the challenge.

Over twenty million tons of electronic waste is processed annually. Over the last several decades, the electronics industry simply disposed of waste in landfills, etc. Now, you can access http://www.earth911.com/recycling/electronics for recycling facilities across the United States. Also, many lamp/bulb manufacturers and distributors are taking their expended products back so you don’t have to process it yourself. This will insure that the otherwise toxic mercury material is properly reclaimed.

Here are some behind the scenes facts about the WHO, WHERE, HOW electronic waste is eliminated. The mercury in lamps/bulb does not become hazardous when efficiently disposed. Contrary to some information that dangerous electronic scrap is smelted down in unregulated Asian facilities, the Basel Action Network has created regulations and supervisory disciplines for waste exports. The burden of determining if a recycler is ethical belongs to all of us - businesses, counties, purchasers, cities and manufacturers.

Some certifications to be aware of are the Institute Of Scrap Recycling Industries, Industry Council For Electronic Equipment Recycling and International Association Of Electronic Recyclers. In addition, other responsible recyclers self-certify. Sony has launched a free “Sony Take Back Program” for any brand electronics. HP recycles all of its products, most for free.

However, beware of the dark side of lamp and bulb recycling. Some facilities have created informal recycling programs. They, indeed, fulfill the need to properly dispose of expended replacement lamps but a number have also fostered an unregulated practice of re-lamping. This process when done properly requires significant capital equipment expenditures. Many of these re-lampers are small companies that purchase old casings on ebay and offer customers “rebates” when they return these old lamps. The casings may be contaminated with mercury from broken arc tubes and could pose a health hazard to consumers.

Make sure that your projector lamp vendor can accept your old lamps for proper disposal, or can offer you disposal options in your state.