Happy Thanksgiving

Everyone at My Eco Lamp Recycling Solutions would like to say thank you for your help this year and for the opportunity to be of service. We wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving.

Practically Speaking Not Recycling Lamps is Illegal

Did You Know...

Many states require lamp recycling and proper disposal of ballasts, batteries, and electronic waste by law. In North Carolina, businesses who discard lamps have to show that each lamp is TCLP compliant and can not take manufacture's claims. This test alone can cost over $1,000 making throwing lamps away "Practically Speaking Illegal". Even green end cap lamps have mercury. In some cases, due to the green end cap lamps, people have become unaware and misinformed about the proper disposal of fluorescent lamps. Even green end cap lamps need to be recycled.

When a lamp is broken, disposed in a landfill, or incinerated, the mercury can travel over 200 miles and can contaminate air, surface water, and groundwater.

Prolonged exposure to high level of metallic, inorganic, or organic mercury can permanently damage the brain, kidneys and developing fetus.

To find out more about recycling of fluorescent, HID, CFL and other lamps in North Carolina, visit www.myecolamp.com

Help Recycle Fluorescent, HID, and other lamps today.

CFL's and Recycling of Mercury Containing Lamps

I came across an article recently entitled CFL's It Takes a Team to Market a Lightbulb. I wanted to highlight an area that is close to our thoughts locally when it comes to recycling in our community in North Carolina. For more on this article visit below for a link to the full article.

"Even though CFLs represent a huge step forward in energy efficiency, all compact fluorescent bulbs including the Marathon bulb, contain a tiny, yet highly toxic amount of mercury. Mercury can cause mental instability, a change in personality, and damage to the liver and kidneys. Once in landfills, it can contaminate underground water supplies. Indeed, many states prohibit the disposal of CFLs in regular trash". We agree that CFLs are a great tool when it comes to addressing the issue of energy efficiency and believe that with the proper handling, they will help save resources and energy. Please Recycle Fluorescent Lamps at end of life and help keep our water streams clean.

To find out how you can recycle fluorescent lamps and other mercury containing lamps, visit My Eco Lamp or www.LampRecycle.org for areas outside of North Carolina.

For more on the article above, visit here

Growing demand for CFL and Fluorescent Lamps Increases Need for Lamp Recycling Services

Recently we came across an interesting and informative article about the proper handling and disposal of CFL fluorescent lamps. With the increasing popularity of compact fluorescent lamps, there is also an increasing amount of hazardous (mercury containing) lamps ending up in our landfills. To find out more about recycling of fluorescent lamps visit here

Jennifer Goodman with EchoHome has a great article on CFL Bulb Disposal: Handle With Care Mercury-containing bulbs necessitate recycling, not trashing. Below is part of the article. To read the complete article, visit their site here

As homeowners embrace more efficient lighting technologies, remodelers, electricians, and other contractors should think twice before tossing light bulbs and lighting fixtures in the trash.

Growing in popularity due to their long life and low energy usage, compact fluorescent (CFL) and other energy-efficient light bulbs such as linear fluorescent and high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps contain a very small amount of mercury, a poisonous substance. Ten states and multiple local jurisdictions prohibit the disposal of mercury-containing products--including CFLs and other mercury-containing bulbs--in solid waste. (For state-by-state regulations click here.)

Just as pros learned to safely dispose of old mercury thermostats, they will need to devise a plan for the way they dispose of remodeling waste containing these new types of bulbs, says Mark Kohorst, senior manager for environment, health, and safety for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA).

“For example, in the past a contractor doing a kitchen remodeling project would gut the kitchen and didn’t worry about the old fixtures and bulbs—for the most part 25-cent incandescents—that were going in the trash,” says Kohorst. “As the marketplace changes, some of this lighting could now include CFLs, which need to be treated as special waste.”

But even with the threat of fines and penalties, the residential building industry has been slow to embrace CFL recycling, says Mark Tibbetts, director of NEMA’s recycling initiative.

“Recyclers find contractors to be a very tough market to crack, partly because there hasn’t been a real threat of enforcement,” Tibbetts says. “But as a contractor, you are liable if these lamps are part of your demolition.”

In coming years, pros are sure to find more of these types of bulbs in the houses they remodel, Tibbetts adds. CFL use is expected to grow in part because traditional incandescent bulbs will be phased out by 2014 under the federal Clean Energy Act. In many areas, energy companies already are offering incentives such as mail-in rebates to incite homeowners to switch to CFLs.

Energy Awareness Month

Did you know that October is Energy Awareness Month? My Eco Lamp is excited to be an Energy Star Partner and would like to thank all of you have taken the pledge to save energy while saving green. To find out more about Energy Star and energy efficiency, you can visit http://www.myecolamp.com or go directly to here

To Saving Energy!

When using energy efficient lamps, please remember to recycle CFL, Linear Fluorescent, HID and other mercury containing lamps. For more information on lamp recycling visit MyEcoLamp.com

Recycling Compact Fluorescent Lamps

Recently we have noticed that many folks still are not sure what to do with the "ice cream shaped" light called a compact fluorescent lamp when it comes to disposing of them? Do they contain mercury? If so, what would be the proper way to recycle a fluorescent lamp containing mercury? To answer this question Earth 911 has a great site and we thought we would share with you a section of their site where they talk about "Tips on Recycling a CFL" To find out more about Earth911.com visit the link below the feature for more information and a direct link to this content.

"Tips on Recycling a CFL

With compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), mercury content needs to be taken into consideration before disposal. Mercury is an extremely hazardous waste and is a major health concern when it comes in contact with humans and animals. In humans, mercury can cause brain and kidney damage. While many companies hope to have non-mercury CFLs in the near future, right now, such lamps are not currently available.

When you are ready to recycle your used lamps:

* Be sure to carefully package them to ensure that they do not break in transport. This could release dangerous toxins.
* An easy way to prepare used lamps for recycling is to box them up in the packaging from your new lamps.
* Store your old lamps until you can locate an appropriate place to recycle them." To find out more about Earth 911 and this article visit here

Fluorescent, HID, Mercury Containing Lamps. Opportunity for Recycling To Be on Rise?

Below is a great opportunity coming for the commercial lighting industry. With the DOE getting ready to fund what they call the "Retrofit Ramp-Ups" there will be a likely influx of fluorescent, HID, and other mercury containing lamps headed for disposal in our landfills. Join My Eco Lamp on its goal to help change tomorrow by "Planting Seeds of Hope" today with our lamp recycling service and solutions program. To find out more about the DOE program, read below and visit here This is a great opportunity to not only save energy but to make a difference on the impact for tomorrow's generation.

DOE to Fund up to $454 Million for Retrofit Ramp-Ups in Energy Efficiency
Projects Seek to Make Efficiency Accessible to Every Business and Homeowner

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced a new $450 million program designed to catalyze a nationwide energy upgrade that experts estimate could save $100 million annually in utility bills for households and businesses. The Recovery Act’s “Retrofit Ramp-Up” program will pioneer innovative models for rolling out energy efficiency to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in a variety of communities. Much like past roll-outs for cable TV or the Internet, DOE intends to create models that, when undertaken nationally, will save consumers billions of dollars on their utility bills and make the huge savings of energy efficiency available to everyone.

“Energy efficiency isn’t just low-hanging fruit; it’s fruit lying on the ground. We have the tools to reduce energy use at home and at work and to provide huge savings to families and businesses on their energy bills. But use of these technologies has been far too limited because we lack the simple and effective ways for people to access them,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

“The ‘Retrofit Ramp-Up’ program will support large-scale models that can open new energy efficiency opportunities to whole neighborhoods, towns, and, eventually, entire states,” continued Secretary Chu. “The Recovery Act will allow innovative communities to demonstrate a variety of sustainable business models that can be replicated across the country.”

The Request for Information (RFI) being issued today is for competitively-selected local energy efficiency projects. This competitive portion of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program will target community-scale retrofit projects that make significant, long-term impacts on energy use and can serve as national role models for grassroots energy efficiency efforts. DOE is seeking public comment on this newly funded program under the Recovery Act. Public comment ends on September 28, 2009.