How harmful is the waste energy-saving lamp? How to deal with the waste energy-saving lamp
A small energy-saving lamp can save 80% of electricity than ordinary incandescent lamps and emit light Efficiency and service life are about 5 times that of incandescent lamps. However, if such an energy-saving lamp is discarded at will without proper treatment, the harmful substances in it may cause great pollution to the environment. What harm will waste energy-saving lamps cause? How to improve the recycling mechanism and recycling system? Recently, our reporter conducted an investigation. Electronic compact fluorescent lamps, commonly known as “energy-saving lamps,” are seen as an alternative to traditional incandescent lamps because of their energy efficiency. According to reports, compared with ordinary incandescent lamps, energy-saving lamps save about 80% of electricity, and the luminous efficiency and service life are about 5 times that of traditional incandescent lamps.
Promoting energy-saving lamps can effectively save electricity and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The National Development and Reform Commission recently issued a roadmap for phasing out incandescent lamps: From October 1, 2012, my country will gradually ban the import and sale of incandescent lamps for general lighting in stages according to their power. The promotion of energy-saving lamps is the general trend. However, the reporter recently found that the recycling and disposal of waste energy-saving lamps cannot be ignored. Improper handling of waste energy-saving lamps containing lead, mercury and other harmful elements may pollute the environment. The reporter saw in a Philips 5W electronic energy-saving lamp manual that this energy-saving lamp contains lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls, polybrominated Six harmful elements and substances such as diphenyl ether are distributed in the capillary, lamp cap and ballast of the energy-saving lamp respectively. It is understood that once the energy-saving lamps are damaged or disposed of improperly, these harmful elements and substances are likely to cause harm to the environment and human body. At present, the “National List of Hazardous Wastes” has included waste energy-saving lamps.
An environmental protection scholar said that at present, the mercury content of an ordinary energy-saving lamp is about 0.5 mg, which can cause 180 tons of water to become “poisonous water” after infiltration into the ground. The scholar introduced that low-dose mercury toxicity is harmful to different organ systems of the human body, including reduced muscle strength, increased fatigue, and deformity of offspring in adults. , autism, delayed walking ability, etc. Once lead enters the human body, it will hinder the synthesis of blood, resulting in anemia, headache and limb aches, etc. After invading the nerve tissue of the brain, it may also cause children’s developmental delay, ADHD, mental retardation and other diseases. According to Xie Ji, deputy director of the Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection of the National Development and Reform Commission, China is a major producer and consumer of lighting products. The output of energy-saving lamps and incandescent lamps ranks first in the world. Last year, the output and domestic sales of incandescent lamps were 38.5%. billion and 1.07 billion. At the same time, the total output of energy-saving lamps in my country is 4.26 billion, accounting for about 80% of the global total. It is difficult to recycle energy-saving lamps. A national, standardized recycling system and system has not yet been established. It is understood that the most extensive recycling method for waste energy-saving lamps is to extract harmful mercury and other elements from energy-saving lamps and reuse them after treatment. , and other parts are crushed and landfilled.
However, the recycling of waste energy-saving lamps has encountered difficulties. During the interview, the reporter found that many citizens threw away energy-saving lamps that were damaged and scrapped and reached their service life. On the one hand, many people only know that energy-saving lamps “save electricity”, but do not understand the specific harm of waste energy-saving lamps to the environment. On the other hand, there are also citizens who report that there is still a lack of channels for recycling waste energy-saving lamps. A citizen said: “Now, those who sell waste do not accept lamps. What else can they do except throw them away?” Then, why do waste recyclers generally not accept lamps? A waste recycler who has been engaged in the recycling of waste energy-saving lamps told reporters that as far as waste recyclers and processors are concerned, waste energy-saving lamps themselves do not have the same reuse value as beverage bottles, waste household appliances and other waste products. Profitable”. At present, large-scale units and institutions such as schools, supermarkets, and hospitals are better at recycling waste energy-saving lamps. Because these units and institutions use a large amount of energy-saving lamps, the models are standard, and most of them are long lamps, which are easier to organize when recycling. and operation. On the contrary, the energy-saving lamps used by home users are relatively small, and various models ranging from U-shaped lamps to spiral lamps are mixed, making it difficult to recycle. The reporter learned that at present, my country has not established a national, standardized energy-saving lamp recycling system and system. High cost of recycling and processing enterprises lack of enthusiasm for recycling and processing energy-saving lamps At present, some regions in my country have begun to explore the establishment of energy-saving lamp recycling systems that meet local conditions.
On December 3rd, Tianjin Economic and Information Commission and other departments launched the 2011 energy-saving lamp trade-in series of activities. Citizens bring 5 waste energy-saving lamps to the designated place, and they can exchange for 1 new energy-saving lamp. In Tianjin Binhai New Area, a series of environmental protection projects “Green Box”, a series of environmental protection projects participated by relevant management departments, non-profit organizations, volunteers, and college student associations have also included energy-saving lamp recycling activities. In this activity, community residents send waste electronic products, including energy-saving lamps, to the Community Points Supermarket. Different waste electronic products can be exchanged for decals with different points. Each point is equivalent to one RMB. Residents can use the point decals to go to the point supermarket to exchange for products with corresponding points, and realize the trade-in of energy-saving lamps. The recycled waste energy-saving lamps are sent to professional environmental protection companies by volunteers and social workers through relevant departments. According to Chen Weiliang, the project leader of the “Green Box” energy-saving lamp recycling activity, the recycling activity of waste energy-saving lamps in Tianjin Development Zone began in March this year. As of the end of November, more than 5,000 energy-saving lamps have been recycled through door-to-door recycling by public welfare groups and social workers and recycling channels in the community. However, according to his estimation, the waste energy-saving lamps that have been recycled are far from being able to cover the waste energy-saving lamps in the entire Binhai New Area. To achieve full recycling, there is still a long way to go in the future. The processing process of energy-saving lamps after recycling also requires a certain cost, which makes some enterprises discouraged. A recycler told reporters: “The purchase of a waste energy-saving lamp recycling and processing line will require a capital investment of more than 10 million yuan. After the assembly line is completed, the cost of recycling each waste energy-saving lamp will cost about 1 yuan.” According to reports, due to Energy-saving lamps are fragile and have special requirements for transportation. In addition, the sources are scattered during recycling. For some recycling companies, the transportation cost is relatively high. The waste recycler calculated an account for the reporter, “Take back the waste lamp tube and extract the usable substances, that is, phosphor powder and some useful elements, etc. The income of reusing a lamp tube is only 8 cents at most. That is to say, if there is no subsidy, the company alone will lose 2 cents for each energy-saving lamp recycled and disposed of, so naturally there is no enthusiasm.”
There is no legislation on recycling, Experts suggest that the manufacturer should be responsible for recycling. Wang Canfa, a professor of environmental law at China University of Political Science and Law, said that as far as he knows, there is no relevant legislation on garbage classification and heavy metal recycling in my country, and there is a gap in the recycling of energy-saving lamps. Wang Canfa suggested that the state should introduce relevant regulations, formulate special regulations on waste containing hazardous metals such as waste energy-saving lamps and batteries, set up special recycling institutions, and clarify the responsibilities of various departments. Specifically, the National Development and Reform Commission should introduce policies to encourage enterprises to recycle waste energy-saving lamps, so that enterprises can make money, or give subsidies to recycling enterprises to ensure that enterprises do not lose money; the sanitation department is responsible for garbage classification; the commercial department is responsible for recycling; the environmental protection department takes measures Governance. Wang Canfa further suggested that we can adopt the method of “who manufactures and who recycles”, and the waste generated by the manufacturer can be recycled by the manufacturer; the specific recycling method can be implemented with a deposit system. For example, when buying energy-saving lamps, a deposit of 2 yuan should be paid, and it will be returned if it is worn out. Go to the place of purchase and refund the deposit. Relevant experts suggest that while promoting energy-saving lamps, relevant departments should take precautions and improve the corresponding recycling system in a timely manner.
