by Brian Turner, Specialised Protein Products
There has been much controversy lately over the mercury content of fluorescent tubes and CFLs. Many people are still unsure about how to dispose of redundant luminaires safely.
 |
| Fig. 1: Diagram of tube crusher. |
Following all the discussions on the safe disposal of fluorescent tubes and CFLs, I have attached a sketch of a fluorescent tube breaker that we fabricated for the safe disposal of used tubes. The pipe that the fluorescent tube slide down can be a piece of 50 mm pipe with the screwed end at the top so that a pipe cap can be used to close it when not in use – or a plug can be used.
This pipe must be of adequate length so that when the tube is broken in the drum there is no chance of it shattering outside the pipe.
The lid of a 210 litre clamp-type drum was used with the pipe and crank sleeve welded on. Two waste bin liners were fitted, one inside the other, inside the drum and they were folded over the edge of the drum.
When the lid was clamped in place on the drum it held the liners in place. When the crank handle is turned, the paddle breaks the tube and the fragments and other waste is safely deposited inside the waste bin liners.
When the drum is to be emptied, the lid of the drum is unclamped and removed and the liners are gathered together at the top, wound up and folded double and sealed with pull-tights – prior to removal from the drum.
The drum was only opened at least 24 hours after the last tube was broken and only when the registered hazardous waste disposal contractor was on site. The lid of the drum can be further modified to have a self-closing, spring loaded flap fitted so that used CFLs can be deposited in the bin.
Safety precautions
One aspect to remember, even though a contractor is used for the final disposal of hazardous waste, it remains the user’s responsibility to ensure that the waste is disposed of in terms of legislation.
Use only registered hazardous waste disposal companies with approved disposal sites and even consider doing your own inspection of these sites to determine suitability.
Obviously, the best option is to dispose of this type of hazardous waste in its original state without damaging the tubes, but this is not always possible.
