Of illuminators, all fluorescent, gas discharge and LED lamps are to be taken to separate WEEE reception points whereas filament bulbs, halogen and vehicle lamps can be discarded as regular household waste.
The lamps collected from WEEE reception points are delivered to the Fortum Waste Solutions' processing unit. Fluorescent lamps are crushed in a chemical solution which is to absorb the mercury of the lamps. The metallic mercury is transubstantiated into mercury sulfide, the form of mercury that is most commonly found in nature.
Over 90 % of the materials are sorted for reuse. Metals and glass of the lamps are washed before the sorting process and then distributed to metal and glass wool manufacturing.
Recycled compact fluorescent lamps are utilized as heating energy for households in the towns of Riihimäki and Hyvinkää in Southern Finland.
Picture by: Fortum Waste Solutions.