What do u do with old fluro tubes ?

[Gumby]

I had a bit of a clean out at work and we need to throw out some old fluro light tubes. The long ones which don't fit in the wheely bin. Do you break them up ? I'm told that's a no-no. What does every one do with them? There must be plenty chucked out, considering they would most likely be the most popular lighting for a workshop.

[ozwinner]

You have to submerse them in 3 parts kerro, 4 parts vegy oil, and 3 parts turps before you brakem.

Why??
I dont know but it sounds good.

Al :D

[Sturdee]

I slide the old one into the cardboard tube of the new one and put it in the wheelie bin. Seems to fit okay after a few taps with a mallet. :D


Peter.

[echnidna]

I do the same as Peter

[Sir Stinkalot]

I just put them in the wheelie bin and dont close the lid .....
Or if you are into recycling give it to the local neighbourhood kids to use as light sabers :)

[Big Mac]

If you have the time ,patience and quantity you could do what my father did and that is make a glass house out of them. He stood them on there end and made the walls,and used sheets of glass for the roof .It worked okay. The easist way is via the wheelie bin.

Neil
:) :) :)

[Cliff Rogers]

Same as sturdee but if they are the big ones & they don't fit in the narrow packet of the new one, I run off a lenght of cling wrap lay the tube along it & roll it up. Then I stick it in the wheely & give it give it a tap with a blunt object.

[BobR]

Same as Peter.

[Sturdee]

I just put them in the wheelie bin and dont close the lid .....


If the lid is not closed properly our friendly garbage truck will not empty it but drive on. Something to do with rubbish falling out too early before the bin is in place.

Hence the tap with the mallet. :D

Peter.

[Wood Butcher]

1.Make sure you have a least two dud tubes.
2.Load them up into the ute carefully.
3.Dive to the local tip and have javelin contests with the dump attendants.:D :D :D
Local record stands at about 15 metres.:p

[Cliff Rogers]

.... to the local tip and have javelin contests with the dump attendants.....Our local tip wants more than the cost of a new fluro just to drive through the gate. :mad:

[Wood Butcher]

Our local tip wants more than the cost of a new fluro just to drive through the gate. :mad:
`Fortunately at the moment the tip is free for domestic rubbish, but not for long. They are talking about bringing in charges later this year.:eek:

[TOMARTOM]

I believe older fluro tubes contained PCB's Poly Clorinated Biphenels, or spelt something like that. They are an extreme danger to the environment as they do not degrade, or if they do it takes a long long time, probably I would leave them intact and take them directly to the dump, and they would know what to do with them.

regards tony

[Sturdee]

The joys of having a tip to go to and dump rubbish and come back with the trailer as full with new treasures as when you went. :D :D :D We have to hunt through the twice yearly hard rubbish collections. :D

All we have is a transfer station where as soon as stuff is dumped in a concrete pit the dozer squashes everything and pushes it into a big truck which when full carts it away. :eek:

So any tubes dropped of there gets squashed anyway.


Peter.

[SteveAndBelle]

Yeah, TOMATOM is right but an equal danger to that is the mercury content of fluro tubes. Cutting out all the hippy-greenie mumbo-jumbo there's enough mercury in a single fluro tube to severely contaminate the entire contents of a waterway ... the water, the soil, the animals and plants ... everything ! Then with time comes the biological magnification effects so although the levels of heavy metals found just after the contamination may be deemed 'acceptable' over time the animals will eventually consume the water and plants and then each other so each step up the food chain gets a stronger and stronger concentration of the contaminate. Not good for the eco system and definitely not good for us humans who enjoy the occasional piece of fish every now and then.

I say boycott all fluro tubes (including those bloody CFL pieces of crap that local goverments are trying to get everyone to buy because they use less energy) and opt for a more 'green' solution. I know I'll probably get shot down in flames here but think about this ... does the extra energy used by a relatively safe yet energy hungry standard light bulb made of glass, steel, tungsten (and a bit of lead for the contacts) really impact the environment as much as the extremely toxic contents of energy efficient flourescent based lighting with phosphors, PCB's and mercury ? I don't know the answer but my money is on the bog standard energy gobbling incandescent globe until someone finds out ! Smash one of those and all you end up with is a little bit of recyclable glass and a few pieces of recyclable metal which will safely rust away with time anyway.

The manufacturers of fluro based lighting have obviously known this has, is and will be a big problem which is why the more reputable ones have started manufacturing 'green' tubes with a lot less mercury content. Philips makes a 'green' range now and I think a few others do too. Combine these 'green' tubes with the new electronic starters that keep tubes running in tip-top shape and you're on your way to much 'greener' fluro lighting

The house I'm currently in has a few fluro tubes but I've only just moved in and haven't had time to 'deal with them' yet. I know of a few places that actually collect old (& new) tubes and ship them off to Germany to get recycled. They even supply a recycled plastic tube holder which they come around and collect when full (about 25 tubes I think) but they're only really designed for commercial installations ... not for the average Joe. I add my tubes to the collection at work and hope they eventually find their way to the recyclers. The bad news is that it's still a VERY expensive process but the good news is that something like 98% of the contents of a furo tube can be extracted, processed and re-used in new lighting meaning big bucks for the rich person who can afford to buy a fluro tube recycling machine !

You could then easily take it one step further and question how much energy is required to recycle a fluro tube and is it really beneficial both financially & environmentally ... but that's getting far too deep to even consider at 11:25pm on a Monday evening ;)

Food for thought I hope anyway.

Steve.

PS. TOMATOM, I think there are more nasty PCB's in the ballast of a fluro tube fitting than the actual tube itself ... especailly the older ones.

[MathewA]

I go up on the roof and throw them as hard as I can like a spear. With a good wind at my back I can really make those buggers fly.






















You know I just kidding... right!

[simon c]

According to some sources, domestic users may dispose of fluro tubes in their normal refuse, the mecury content of a single tube is low enough for it to be anaerobically converted to inert mercury sulphide in the ground. They should not be dumped with building or industrial waste as the conversion to sulphide may not occur. Commercial quantities should be handled by a professional who will grind the tubes and add sulphur to stimulate the conversion to mercury sulphide.

They should kept intact if possible as the mercuy will escape as vapour from a broken tube. The householder may dispose of them in their normal houshold rubbish (they should be adequately wrapped if they are to be broken). If the householder is uncomfortable breaking them they should be suitably wrapped and disposed of either at the tip or in the hard rubbish collection.

They should not be put in the normal glass recycle.

Reference is here:
http://www.wastewise.wa.gov.au/pages/hazardous2.asp?ID=45

[Gumby]

Ok guys, I get the picture. I'll stick 'em in the bin with all that asbestos I've got :D :D :D :D :D

[SteveAndBelle]

Yeah, I think it's the waterways that are more at risk from airborne mercury vapour from all you guys smashing them in your wheelie bins ;)

If you could really be bothered to get more info on this goto : http://www.buildinggreen.com/features/ds/disposal.cfm and have a gander.

Steve.

[Cliff Rogers]

.......If you could really be bothered to get more info on this goto : http://www.buildinggreen.com/features/ds/disposal.cfm and have a gander.....
Uuuummmmmm I did go there & once I looked at the amount of wading through waffle needed to get to the point, I don't think I can be bothered. :cool:

[SteveAndBelle]

Yeah, agreed ... it's a bit lengthy but when you're paid to read stuff like that it kinda rubs off sometimes :)

Steve.

[soundman]

To my knoweledge there is no polyclorinatedbyphenols PCB in the tube itself (there is no reason that I can think of for it to be there)
There may be some PCB in old fluro fittings in the power correction capacitor.
Older (not too old) fluro tubes did most certainly contain mercury.
As I have posted previously one should take care not to be cut by broken fluro tube, & If cut the wound should be well irrigated to try to remove any possible mercury. If any ill effects are felt get medical attention without delay.
I worked with a neon tube bender that spent 3 days in hospital after a relatively minor cut from a neon tube. (there is more merrcury in a neon)

On a more positive note.
PCB has not been used commercialy for quite some time & should not be in any reasonably recent capacitors
It is my understanding that mercury is no longer used in fluros, many are prominently labeled with this.
Mercury certainly made the tubes last a lot longer & I understand that it made then strike more reliably.

This is one of those issues that nobody has bothered realy addressing in any decent way.
I would go thru about 2 or 3 fluro tubes a year thing how many just 1 woolworths store would generate.

cheers chaps

[Peter R]

I had a bit of a clean out at work and we need to throw out some old fluro light tubes. The long ones which don't fit in the wheely bin. Do you break them up ? I'm told that's a no-no. What does every one do with them? There must be plenty chucked out, considering they would most likely be the most popular lighting for a workshop.

Have you seen MathewA's avitar?????:rolleyes:

Peter R