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Tips for Your Agency > Office
Fluorescent Lamps
Fluorescent lighting includes long fluorescent bulbs used in overhead light fixtures, as well as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). CFLs come in many shapes and shades and can be used for task lighting in a variety of settings.
Local Law 119 of 2005 bans the purchase of incandescent lights by any NYC agency unless there is no alternative available.
Here are suggestions for increasing the efficiency of fluorescent bulbs, and ways to handle their safe disposal:
- Purchase long-life fluorescent lamps to reduce the frequency of replacement and hence the number of lamps that need to be managed.
- Look for lower-wattage fluorescent lamps (32- or 34-watt T-12 tubes can reduce energy use by 15 to 20 percent).
- Purchase reduced-diameter T-8 or T-5 fluorescent lamp tubes. They give off more light and use even less energy than conventional fluorescent lamps.
- Use reflective panels to increase overhead fluorescent lighting by up to 10 percent.
- Look for energy-efficient ballasts. The ballast is an integral part of a fluorescent fixture, providing proper starting and running voltage and current for the lamps. Magnetic ballasts that meet federal energy efficiency standards are labeled with an E. However, electronic ballasts use 10 to 30 percent less energy than magnetic ballasts do, to create the same amount of light. They also generate less heat, operate at higher frequency (which reduces flickering), and create less noise.
- Purchase low-mercury fluorescent lamps, usually indicated by a "green tip" or characteristic green-colored aluminum end. Fluorescent lamps contain mercury that can be released into the atmosphere if broken. By purchasing low-mercury fluorescent lamps, Agencies can minimize the amount of mercury that is released when lamps are discarded. Local Law 120 of 2005 requires that Agencies purchase the lamps with the lowest amount of mercury added, provided energy efficiency requirements are met.
- Recycle used fluorescent lamps when they need to be replaced. Numerous vendors across the country accept and process lamps for recycling. Most vendors require that whole lamps be repackaged in their original boxes (or in boxes provided by the recycler) and shipped to the vendor’s recycling facility. NYC residents can take-back fluorescent lamps to various retailers or drop off fluorescent lamps at DSNY's Self-Help Special Waste Sites.
In accordance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation added fluorescent lamps to New York State’s list of items categorized as “universal wastes.”
Generated in a wide variety of settings, universal wastes include such items as hazardous batteries, hazardous mercury-containing thermostats, certain pesticides, and now hazardous lamps.
While handlers of universal wastes meet less stringent standards for storing, transporting, and collecting wastes, they must comply with full hazardous waste requirements for final recycling, treatment, or disposal.
This means that if you dispose of large quantities of fluorescent lamps, the lamps must be handled as hazardous waste. Lamp ballasts also contain components requiring special handling in large quantities.
ALSO SEE case studies in waste less in business to learn how Metro North and the Port Authority of NY and NJ at LaGuardia Airport are saving money by recycling fluorescent lamps.
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