Electronics Recycler Adds New Program

Flourescent lamps, ballasts included in collection program.

Waste Management & Recycling Products, headquartered in Schenectady, NY, has added a new program to handle recycling fluorescent light bulbs and ballasts. Collection of the bulbs and ballasts enables WMRP to help generators to handle hazardous materials.

Clients recycling fluorescent bulbs most likely will do so under the U.S. EPA “universal waste rule,” which streamlines the process, making it easier for generators and recyclers to accomplish the bulb recycling, said Peter Bennison, senior vice president of business development for WMRP.

The company says that the decision to add the program due to requests by existing clients. The company said that the service can be cost-effectively conducted along with the electronics recycling program.

WMRP will add one full-time and one part-time position for the new service.

The company estimates that the national consumption of mercury-containing fluorescent and HID lamps exceed 650 million a year. Disposal of the material results in more than 28,000 pounds of mercury entering the environment through landfilling and other disposal methods.