To more efficiently recycle fluorescent tubes, which contain toxic chemicals including mercury, about 2,000 shops islandwide which sell the product will begin to form a new recycling system, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday.
Beginning Nov. 1, consumers will be able to recycle used fluorescent tubes at shops near their home during business hours. Previously, to abandon such tubes people have to either wait for garbage trucks on certain days when the recycling pick-up service is available or contact registered recyclers.
"Beginning November 1, people can choose the most convenient way to recycle fluorescent tubes," Environmental Protection Administrator Chang Juu-en (張祖恩) said yesterday. "And we do so in order to ensure our land's sustainability."
Officials said that fluorescent light tubes contain potentially harmful substances such as highly toxic heavy metals -- in particular mercury, cadmium and lead. There is no risk to health when the mercury remains safely inside the tube. However, the problem comes when people dispose it.
Chang said arbitrarily discarding fluorescent tubes contain the hazardous metals and fluorescent powders may pollute the environment and further jeopardize public health.
The EPA also reminded residents of the necessity of wrapping used fluorescent tubes because breakage might create the risk of toxic seepage into the environment. Even worse, officials said that toxic mercury waste may find its way into the food chain.
Dealers who fail to cooperate with the EPA on the recycling project will be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000.
The EPA did not implement a compulsory recycling program for fluorescent tubes until 2002. Prior to 2002, used fluorescent tubes were either recycled and treated as industrial waste and sent to landfills or incinerators.
Statistics show that only 523 tonnes of such tubes were recycled in 2002. However, extraordinary efforts made by the EPA to promote such recycling led to a stronger performance last year, when 7,800 tonnes of fluorescent tubes were recycled. All recycled tubes were treated by four factories adopting advanced technologies that can not only separate hazardous fluorescent powders but also refine mercury.
During the first seven months of this year, more than 2,400 tonnes of fluorescent tubes were recycled. EPA officials said that they were still keeping their eyes on the amount of recycled fluorescent tubes to figure out why it appeared to be declining this year. In 2001, the EPA estimated that Taiwan annually consumes 89.54 million fluorescent tubes weighing about 8,900 tonnes.
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