Light Recycle Programs Proving Successful, but More Awareness Needed

Lights Recycle

The last few years have seen industry step-up to meet increasing environmental regulations, specifically in regards to extended producer responsibility programs. 

For the uninitiated, extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation requires producers to assume physical and financial responsibility for a product after it has ended its life cycle, lifting much of the burden off of municipalities. The law requires producers to either be a part of, or have their own, government approved EPR recycling program. 

For light recycling, “Electro-Federation Canada, together with the EEMAC Lighting Section, recognized in 2008 that regulations were changing and some lamp products would be regulated as to how they were disposed,” explained Wayne Edwards, EFC VP Sustainability & Electrical Safety, in the association’s InfoElectric Spring 2014 and EFC Annual Report. 

They selected not-for-profit industry association Product Care to design and manage lamp recycling programs for British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec. “Each program is working well and continuing to enlighten Canadians in how to better protect the environment while offering convenient disposal to residential and C&I (QC and BC) sectors at no cost to them. All Canadians are winners,” Edwards said. Except that “all Canadians” may not even be aware that they can recycle their lights. 

According to Mark Kurschner, president, Product Care Association, British Columbia has the most comprehensive industry led-light recycling program. Called “LightRecycle,” it was launched in 2010 and has been responsible for the diversion of more than 5.2 million used lights, he explained in InfoElectric Spring 2014 and EFC Annual Report. 

A stewardship program, LightRecycle, is not-for-profit and entirely industry funded. British Columbia’s version of the program manages all aspects of recycling, from consumer and industrial collection sites and contracting with processors who disassemble the lights for reclamation and reuse, Kurschner explained. Its depot network has over 200 collection sites, including retailers, for-profit and non-profit recycling organizations, as well as local government recycling centres and transfer stations. 

And it’s working. “In 2011, the program’s first full year of operation, 400,000 residential-use fluorescent lights and tubes were collected and B.C.’s per-capita collection rate increased to 0.09 units/per person,” Kurschner said, breaking down the numbers. “In 2012, when LightRecycle’s accepted products list expanded to include all light bulbs, ballasts, and fixtures used in the retail, industrial, commercial and residential sectors, that number went up to 0.27 units/person with a collection volume of 1.16 million units.” Recent data has the per capita collection rate at 0.82units per person based on 3,546,522 units collected, he said. 

Meanwhile in Quebec, “RecycFluo” grabbed more than 3,000,000 end-of-life mercury containing lamps in its first year. The problem, however, is that majority of the Quebec population is unaware that mercury-containing bulbs can be recycled, “let alone where to take them,” Kurschner said, citing 2014 Omnibus Research.  

Education about these recycling programs (and there’s a variation in every province) is “of paramount importance and needs to continue to be a priority for EPR program members,” Kurschner stressed. “The collection rate potential in the face of increased program awareness is simply astronomical.”

 

Related Articles


Changing Scene

  • LEDVANCE Expands Ontario Presence with New Specification Agent

    LEDVANCE Expands Ontario Presence with New Specification Agent

    LEDVANCE is pleased to announce the appointment of Sterling Architectural Products Ltd. (Sterling Lights) as their new specification agent in Ontario. This partnership strengthens LEDVANCE’s presence in the region and reinforces their commitment to serving the professional lighting design and specification community with innovative, reliable lighting solutions. With decades of experience and a service-driven mindset,… Read More…

  • May 29, 2025 - Eureka Wins Three 2025 Red Dot Awards for Product Design

    Eureka Wins Three 2025 Red Dot Awards for Product Design

    Eureka is pleased to announce that its Velia, Cirra, and Junction luminaires have each received a 2025 Red Dot Design Award for Product Design. It is the 11th consecutive year that Eureka products have been honored with this prestigious award, which is a testament to the company’s consistency and relentless drive to design exceptional luminaires.… Read More…


Design

  • The Difference Between Accent, Ambient & Task Lighting: Ultimate Guide

    The Difference Between Accent, Ambient & Task Lighting: Ultimate Guide

    In interior design, lighting is not just about brightening the room. Sensitive lighting layout is the key in the whole aesthetic atmosphere. An outstanding lighting solution will not rely on one type of fixture. Rather, it is through the combination of different types of lighting. Accent, ambient, and task lighting are three basic types of… Read More…

  • Graphic Office Interiors Enhance Their Office Space, Incorporating State-Of-The-Art Lighting Solutions

    Graphic Office Interiors Enhance Their Office Space, Incorporating State-Of-The-Art Lighting Solutions

    Graphic Office Interiors, a renowned office design and furnishings company serving Vancouver Island since 1966, embarked on a unique lighting project for their personal office in Saanichton, BC. This project marked the first collaboration between Kelly Inglis of Mac’s II Agencies and Graphic Office Interiors’ in-house registered interior designer, Laura Harlos. Known for their exclusive Steelcase furniture line, modular moveable… Read More…


New Products

  • Legrand Unveils Wattstopper i3:  Next-Generation Lighting & Building Intelligence Solution Powered by KODE Labs

    Legrand Unveils Wattstopper i3:  Next-Generation Lighting & Building Intelligence Solution Powered by KODE Labs

    Legrand has announced the launch of the Wattstopper i3 Platform, a next-generation lighting and building intelligence solution powered by KODE Labs, a recognized name in advanced smart building technology. Wattstopper i3 unites Legrand’s established Wattstopper DLM and Wattstopper PLUS systems under a cohesive interface. With KODE’s award-winning OS at its core, the platform consolidates data… Read More…

  • Acuity: New C1D2 Emergency Exit Combo – HLEMC

    Acuity: New C1D2 Emergency Exit Combo – HLEMC

    The HLEMC from Holophane is a high-performing, IP66 rated emergency exit combo that is designed for use in Class 1, Div 2, groups A, B, C, & D hazardous environments, meeting up to a T3C temperature rating. The HLEMC is designed with a one-piece corrosion-resistant enclosure that is high-impact resistant to protect fixture against elements,… Read More…