Electronic Waste & Lamp Recycling

Summary

Under federal regulations, commercial and industrial entities are required to manage mercury-containing light bulbs/lamps as a hazardous waste after their end life. In Michigan (and several other States), lamps can be treated as universal waste. Similarly, due to the high concentration of various hazardous materials in computers and electronic waste, various regulatory agencies have determined that the following items may "likely" be hazardous:

• Fluorescent Lamps.Fluorescent lamps/lights may contain up to 40 milligrams of elemental mercury, depending on the brand or manufacture date. Lamps may also contain lead and small amounts of antimony and cadmium. It should be noted that "green tip" lamps are not excluded and often contain a lower quantity of mercury. The following lamps are also regulated: high intensity discharge, sodium vapor, mercury vapor, neon, and incandescent lamps.
• Computer Monitors and Televisions. Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) in computer monitors and television sets often exceed the limit for hazardous material classification. However, since CRTs meet the definition of an electric lamp (in Michigan), they may be managed as a universal waste. Some monitors/CRTs may also contain barium and/or cadmium. Flat screen models may contain mercury. According to the EPA, each broken CRT can release 3-8 pounds of lead which has been demonstrated to cause brain damage, particularly in children. The EPA also estimates that discarded CRTs contribute at least 40% of the known lead in U.S. landfills.
• Circuit/Wiring Boards. Circuit boards can be found in many types of electronic equipment: computers, TVs, radios, telephones and various types of hardware. Most electronic boards contain metals including lead, silver and gold.
• Batteries, Switches, Sensors & Relays. Electronic equipment, including computer motherboards, often contains batteries and sometimes mercury switches, sensors and relays. The batteries may contain mercury, cadmium, silver and lithium. Switches may contain mercury, cadmium, and precious metals like palladium, rhodium, and platinum.

Service Options

Packaging, Transportation & Disposal/Recycling

For industrial, commercial business and individual consumers where electronic donations are not viable, arch environmental group encourages the proper recycling and disposal of your equipment. Although there are no federal regulations mandating the recycling of e-waste it should be noted that many items test "positive" for hazardous materials and may then become regulated. arch environmental group supports the EPA's initiative titled "PLUG-IN TO eCYCLING" in order to properly deal with the estimated 235 million electronic components currently in storage and no longer used.

Facility Delamping

During large-scale renovations, building decommissioning or light upgrades it often becomes necessary to replace all lamps throughout a building or a portion of a building. arch environmental group can provide supplies, removal labor, trucking and recycling services.

Packaging Supplies

arch environmental group can provide supplies for packaging e-waste including lamp boxes, lamp fiber drums, steel drums and other supplies as requested.