LED Tube Lights

Designed to replace fluorescent tube bulbs, these LED tubes are available in 8 and 16 watts, which replace traditional 25-watt and 40-watt T5/T8/T10/T12 fluorescent tubes. Because fluorescent lights are often installed in high ceilings in commercial sites, there are additional savings because the frequency of changing bulbs is greatly reduced.

LED tubes are ideal lighting for commercial, industrial and public areas, such as offices, schools, retail stores, carparks, libraries, subways and factories. In most cases they can be retrofitted. Aluminium inner pipe and polycarbonate cover. T5 lights are often usedin cabinets or other interior design applications.

Mercury in Fluorescent Tubes

The mercury from a single fluorescent tube is enough to pollute 30,000 litres of water beyond the safe drinking level in the UK. Fluorescent Tubes contain in general 94% glass, 4% ferrousand non-ferrous metals, and 2% phosphor powder. Within this phosphor powder the most hazardous mercury is contained.

The Environment Agency has therefore determined that CFL’s fluorescent tubes are now classified as Hazardous Waste in England and Wales and as Special Waste by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). Therefore they should preferably be recycled or if absolutely necessary, taken to specific landfill sites that can cater for mercury bearing wastes. The actual number of sites in the UK that can cater for such waste is very limited and, given high transportation and disposal costs, this makes recycling of Fluorescent Tubes and Lamps the most economical and environmentally friendly option. The process involves separating the individual components of fluorescent tubes and other discharge lamps and recovering them for recycling or re-use in a variety of industries.

It is possible to distil and recover the mercury from the phosphor powder, purify the mercury into various grades to be reused in various industries. Recovered mercury is supplied to lamp manufacturers in the UK where it is used in the production of new lamps thereby closing the loop. Apart from the environmental aspect to recycling fluorescent tubes and lamps, it is also very important to the health and safety of employees. An employee attempting to dispose of a fluorescent tube in a skip would not only be condemning the whole skip as Hazardous Waste with costly consequences of its safe disposal, but would also be exposed to the potential dangers of broken glass and also the inhalation of small amounts of toxic materials released as dust and vapour.