According to a press release from LightRecycle, a non-profit program that recycles lighting products in British Columbia, it has accepted residential-use fluorescent lights at collection sites across the province since 2010. The expanded LightRecycle program now accepts all lighting products for recycling without charge, including all types of lights (bulbs and tubes), ballasts and lighting fixtures used in residential, institutional, commercial and industrial applications.
LightRecycle has two separate collection system channels: an expanding consumer collection network for residential-use lighting products and a new large volume generator collection network for lighting products used in industrial, commercial and institutional applications. Examples of large volume generators include contractors, businesses, relampers, schools, hospitals, building managers and more. Each channel has specific collection options available based on the type and volume of products to be recycled.
Brock Macdonald, CEO of the Recycling Council of British Columbia, noted in the release that LightRecycle is one of 14 industry-managed recycling programs in the province and that expanding the program to include all lighting products from all sectors means that fewer recyclable materials will end up in landfills.
The expanded LightRecycle program covers lights (bulbs and tubes), ballasts and lighting fixtures. All types of lights are accepted under both channels, including fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), halogen and incandescent bulbs, light emitting diodes (LEDs) and high intensity discharge lamps (HID).
A lighting fixture is any product with a primary purpose to provide light. Common examples of residential-use lighting fixtures include floor lamps, chandeliers, table lamps, ceiling lights, flashlights and Christmas lights. Examples of fixtures that will be recycled by large volume generators include streetlights and large outdoor floodlights.
There are more than 200 collection sites for consumers to drop off their burned-out lights (bulbs and tubes) and more than 80 collection sites across the province for consumers to drop off their old or broken lighting fixtures.
