Since 2000, it has rapidly entered China's tens of thousands of households. By 2009, the penetration rate has reached 90%. In the past decade or so, China has produced a large number of waste energy-saving lamps. However, unlike the situation in which “government actively formulates policies to guide recycling and disposal, and people form habits and actively participate in recycling”, China has no recycling policies yet, and ordinary people are The environmental hazards of energy-saving lamps are also poorly understood.

“Lighting up an energy-saving lamp, a big step in low-carbon life”, energy-saving lamps, with their advantages of low power consumption and long life, have rapidly entered China's tens of thousands of households since 2000. By 2009, the penetration rate had reached 90. %. In the past decade or so, China has produced a large number of waste energy-saving lamps. However, unlike the situation in which “government actively formulates policies to guide recycling and disposal, and people form habits and actively participate in recycling”, China has no recycling policies yet, and ordinary people are The environmental hazards of energy-saving lamps are also poorly understood.

Waste energy-saving lamps into pollution sources

Under the premise of achieving the same lighting effect, the energy-saving lamp consumes 1/5 of the power of an ordinary incandescent lamp, and its lifetime is 6 times. However, due to the manufacturing process, the mercury pollution generated by energy-saving lamps is getting more and more attention. It is understood that an energy-saving lamp contains an average of 0.5 milligrams of mercury. If it penetrates into the ground, it will cause 90 to 180 tons of water pollution. Because the boiling point of mercury is low, it can evaporate at room temperature. After the waste energy-saving lamp is broken, the concentration of mercury in the surrounding air can be exceeded by a hundred times. Once the mercury that enters the body exceeds the standard, it will destroy the human central nervous system. A single inhalation of 25 milligrams of mercury vapor can cause death. In addition, there are paint, metal and other harmful substances inside the energy-saving lamp, which will pollute the environment. According to incomplete statistics, over the past few years, the country has promoted up to 200 million energy-saving lamps, and in recent years, it is the period of large-scale replacement. However, it is regrettable that our country is still blank in terms of energy-saving lamp recycling and harmless treatment. A large number of broken energy-saving lamps are buried in landfills or exposed to the air, seriously damaging the environment.

Fortunately, many people have realized the environmental hazards caused by energy-saving lamps and started to act. In early February, a well-known lighting company in China launched the “Recycling of Used Energy-saving Lamps” in Shanghai. According to the plan, at the end of this year, the recycling bins for waste energy-saving lamps will be placed in 130 communities in Shanghai; and the consumer rights holders in Deqing County, Zhejiang Province, will be priced at RMB 0.5 each. Recycling used energy-saving lamps and promoting environmental protection concepts. Jiang Keji expressed that he hopes relevant departments will issue relevant policies as soon as possible, and that the recycling bins for used energy-saving lamps can also be set up in the communities and supermarkets, and the public can also be encouraged to develop awareness of recycling as soon as possible through “replacement of old” or giving away small gifts.

Nanjing: Wasted energy-saving lamps have nowhere to deal with how to deal with the public is very sad

"Well, let's just throw it away, or what else can we do?" Recently, the reporter visited the Government of Nanjing Liyuan Street to subsidize the sale of energy-saving lamps and asked citizens who buy energy-saving lamps how to deal with broken energy-saving lamps. Most citizens said Discard waste energy lamps as ordinary household waste. In the interview, many residents stated that they are using energy-saving lamps at home and that they are relatively power-efficient. Most people, however, have expressed that they only know that used batteries must be recycled specifically. They have never heard that waste energy-saving lamps must be dealt with specifically. They are thrown into the trash and thrown away with other household waste.

Yesterday, the reporter discovered at the sales offices of a number of large-scale supermarkets in Nanjing that the energy-saving lamps of some brands indicated at the bottom of the box that “if the product is damaged/finished, please dispose of it according to the requirements of the local environmental protection regulations”. However, when a reporter asked a supermarket clerk if an abandoned energy-saving lamp could not be recycled, the clerk said that supermarkets and manufacturing companies did not specifically recycle this service. The reporter then called the environmental hotline 12369. The staff said that the environmental protection department did not participate in the government's promotion of energy-saving lamp activities. How to recycle the waste was not clear.

Shanxi: waste energy-saving lamps have no place

Regarding the disposal of energy-saving lamps after retirement, the reporter interviewed 21 residents of the provincial capital. Among them, 17 residents said they were not aware of the environmental hazards caused by energy-saving lamps. They said that once the energy-saving lamps at home are scrapped, they will be thrown at them. Garbage station.

In front of a garbage station in the provincial capital Taigang Community, the reporter encountered Wang Yanru, a resident who carried an energy-saving lamp to the garbage station. When a reporter asked if he knew that the energy-saving lamp would pollute the urban environment, Wang Yanru expressed his surprise when he was not clear. The reporter has learned from the fact that the energy-saving lamp contains knowledge that mercury can harm the environment. "Because the people who collected the bad goods did not receive it, many residents would throw the used energy-saving lamps at the garbage station. Otherwise, they wouldn't be released." Wang Yanru answered the reporter.

Sweden: Active mobilization for recycling

Sweden is currently pushing for the recycling and decontamination of used energy-saving lamps. The Swedish Ministry of Environmental Protection has made it clear that this year's recycling of used energy-saving lamps must increase by 30% from last year to 2 million. A thorough investigation and evaluation of the current recycling system is immediately conducted to improve the recycling system.

Local governments attach great importance to non-governmental forces and provide detailed guidance and requirements for the recycling of used energy-saving lamps:

1. You can find the nearest garbage recycling station or environmental protection station on your city government website. Some cities also have mobile garbage collection centers.

2. Ask the store where you purchased the lamp if you can accept the used lamp. Some stores are authorized by the government and can be recycled and sent to the recycling station.

3. In supermarkets where you purchase light bulbs, there are boxes for recycling light bulbs that can be used to discard used bulbs.

4. There may be a dedicated box for discarding energy-saving lamps in the garbage room of your residential area.

5. You can drive the used energy-saving lamps to a nearby recycling center by car or car. Some municipalities have stipulated that used energy-saving lamps can only be sent to a recycling center managed by someone.

6. Do not store broken energy-saving lamps at home. If you accidentally break the light bulb, you must check it on the internet. On the website of the Swedish National Chemical Inspectorate, you can find out what to do if you use energy-saving lamps as search terms.

7. When discarding energy-saving lamps, be careful not to crush them, even if you put them in the recycling center.

8. The correct recycling attitude is very important. The energy-saving lamp must not be discarded in a glass waste container, and it must not be discarded in an ordinary household waste container.

Germany: a total of 8000 recycling points

Germany's energy-saving lamp recycling adopts two parallel channels of sales system and community recycling.

In Germany, people want to discard used energy-saving lamps. You can log in to a collection site specifically set up by the environmental protection department and the energy-saving lamp business association to inquire about collection points. For example, there are 16 collection points in the street where the reporter is located. These outlets are located in lighting shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, appliance stores, and communities. Like the famous German supermarket chain Real, it has collection boxes in its 361 stores. These collection boxes are placed next to the collection boxes for plastic bottles. Vibrant colors and slogans are very compelling. There are some brief introductions on the box that show how collecting energy-saving lamps is environmentally friendly.

Statistics from the German environmental protection agency show that in recent years, Germany’s channels for collecting energy-saving lamps have grown at a double-digit percentage each year. At present, Germany has more than 8,000 collection points. In particular, the growth of commercial institutions is the fastest. At present, 2/3 of Germany's collection points are located in commercial establishments. These recycled energy-saving lamps are properly disposed of, and more than 90% of the parts are reused after being recycled.

The German Society for Nature Conservation calls on the government to pass legislation that retailers must be responsible for recycling used bulbs. At present, German government departments are demonstrating energy-saving lamp recycling legislation.

Japan: The recycling system is perfect

At present, Japan is the best country for energy-saving lamp recycling. The Japanese government attaches great importance to the recycling of waste energy-saving lamps, and publishes the various measures and policies on various local government websites in detail, including assessment of the pollution of energy-saving lamps, detailed treatment after the damage of energy-saving lamps, and a dedicated personal consultation window. . In addition, the government also funded the construction of a factory dedicated to the recovery of "harmful" waste, and provided detailed illustrations of the "harmful waste" processing steps on the factory's website.

Japan also has strict procedures for recovering energy-saving lamps. Take Tokyo as an example, the government requires that energy-saving lamps be placed in plastic garbage bags and “bad” garbage should be written on the bags and prohibited from being mixed with resource-based waste. In addition, special collection points will be set up in supermarkets or convenience stores. The government also provides certain economic subsidies. Recycling points can carry out some preferential activities, such as redeeming goods with discarded energy-saving lamps, or performing points.

Most of the recycling factories enjoy government subsidy, and the energy-saving lamps recovered from the factory are also recycled: by cutting, the washed glass is used as a heat-resisting material for housing or a new energy-saving lamp material; the aluminum lid is melted by high temperature As a new aluminum material, it will be reused; the mercury will be gasified through high-end chemical technology, and the discharged gas is basically free of pollution to the environment.

In Japan, the pollution of used energy-saving lamps can be kept to a minimum. In addition to the government's efforts, a high awareness of waste separation by enterprises and residents cannot be ignored. In Hokkaido, there are specialized recycling facilities for discarded energy-saving lamps. The collection method of 7% is collected by various manufacturers, and 93% is collected by non-governmental environmental protection organizations.