Waste lamp scheme
September 1st 2007 A new system introduced by lamp
manufacturers for the collection
and recycling of waste lamps has
been described as 'a wasted
opportunity and an environmental
nonsense' by Balcan Engineering.
The company has been handling
waste lamps for almost 30 years
and last year won a Queen's
Award for its recycling plant and
service. It is a long-standing
champion of on-site crushing,
which can reduce the volume of
lamps by five times.
John Rinfret, MD, says "Our
award citation specifically mentions
the benefits of reducing traffic
volumes by transporting redundant
lamps that have been crushed."
The new scheme involves the
collection of whole lamps, stored in
large steel and plastic containers,
from designated collection points.
To organise the collection
service, manufacturers formed the
company Recolight and, says
Balcan, they have added a 15p
surcharge to each new lamp to
cover the cost.
Rinfret continues "Aside from our
grievances about the way the
tendering was conducted, Defra,
SEPA and the Northern Ireland
Heritage Department have
exempted the use of lamp crushers
from the WEEE regulations,
recognising the merit of handling
and transporting pre-crushed
material. It seems complete
environmental nonsense to add
fleets of large, heavy vehicles to
our congested roads
unnecessarily." More articles from Balcan Engineering Ltd: | 
