Report
to/Rapport au :
Planning and Environment Committee
Comité de l'urbanisme et de
l'environnement
13 March 2006 / le 13 mars 2006
Submitted by/Soumis par : Alex Cullen, Councillor/
Conseiller, quartier Baie/Bay ward
Contact
Person/Personne ressource : As above
(613) 580-2424 x580-2477,
alex.cullen@ottawa.ca
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SUBJECT: |
DISPOSAL OF ENERGY-EFFICIENT COMPACT
FLUORESCENT LIGHT BULBS CONTAINING MERCURY |
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OBJET : |
ÉLIMINATION DES LAMPES
FLUORESCENTES COMPACTES ÉCONERGÉTIQUES CONTENANT DU MERCURE |
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Planning and Environment Committee receive this report for discussion purposes.
RECOMMANDATION DU
RAPPORT
Que le Comité de
l’urbanisme et de l’environnement prenne connaissance de ce rapport à fin de
discussion.
BACKGROUND
At the Planning and Environment Committee meeting of 28 February, Councillor Alex Cullen raised the following Inquiry (04-06):
Hydro Ottawa is distributing energy-efficient Greenlight “60 watt” light bulbs (using 13 watts of energy) which contain mercury, a hazardous substance. What is the appropriate disposal process for used light bulbs of this type, and how is this publicized?
DISCUSSION
On 13 March 06, Public Works and Services provided the following response, dated March 10, 2006, to the Councillor’s inquiry:
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Chair and Members of the Planning
and Environment Committee: The
City of Ottawa's municipal landfill is regulated by the Ontario Ministry of
Environment Regulation 347. Under
Ontario Regulation 347, there is a small quantity exemption for residents to
dispose of mercury-containing light fixtures that would be equivalent to 17
standard 4 foot, 1 and 1/2 inch diameter fluorescent tubes per month. You can place this type of material out
with your regular curbside collection. Manufacturers
are working to reduce the mercury content without reducing lamp life in these
types of fixtures. No information is
currently publicized by the City as we have had very few concerns raised in
past years. Solid Waste Services will
advertise this information on the City of Ottawa web site. |
On 13 March, Councillor Cullen requested that this matter be placed on the agenda of the next Planning and Environment Committee for further discussion.
CONSULTATION
No public consultation is required at this time.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no direct financial implications from this report.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Article by John Spears, City Hall bureau, in the Toronto Star of March 4, 2006.
DISPOSITION
Corporate Services, City Clerk’s Office will advise interested parties of the results of the Planning and Environment Committee discussion.
Mar. 4,
2006. 10:55 AM
JOHN
SPEARS
CITY
HALL BUREAU
Energy-saving compact
fluorescent light bulbs are being pushed as the next great thing for the
environment, but officials acknowledge they still have work to do on one of the
environmental drawbacks.
While the bulbs use
less electricity than conventional bulbs, they also contain small amounts of
mercury — a poisonous heavy metal. Mercury accumulates in living organisms and
harms the brain, nervous system and kidneys. It also harms developing fetuses.
The bulbs come with
vague warnings to "manage in accordance with disposal laws," but most
householders likely have no idea what those laws are.
"The reality is,
most people throw them in the garbage," acknowledged Tanya Bruckmueller of
Toronto Hydro, which has encouraged householders to use the bulbs and has even
given them away in a promotion with The Home Depot.
A 13-watt compact
fluorescent bulb provides about as much light as a 60-watt conventional bulb,
which has no mercury, and lasts much longer. But the downside is that the
fluorescent bulbs — whether compact or the more familiar long tubes — require
special handling due to the mercury, which is used to produce their light.
When mercury ends up
in a landfill, it can leach into the soil or enter the atmosphere.
If a compact
fluorescent bulb breaks, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advises
householders to immediately air out the room to let mercury vapour escape. The
broken glass should be swept up, not vacuumed, and then placed in a sealed bag.
Manitoba Hydro
advises householders to wipe the area where the bulb broke with a damp paper
towel, and to dispose of the towel with the shards of glass.
Most bulbs will burn
out eventually without breaking.
Both Toronto Hydro
and Ontario's energy ministry have the same advice: Store the burned-out bulbs
in a safe place, and dispose of them when there's a community hazardous-waste
collection.
In Toronto, there's
generally one Environment Day per year in each ward, when local residents can
bring hazardous waste to be safely disposed of.
During the rest of
the year, the city's six solid-waste drop-off depots will take hazardous waste.
Information is available at 416-338-2010.
In GTA municipalities
outside Toronto, waste disposal centres will take hazardous waste, but
residents must bring it to the following locations.
·
Peel Region:
Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga.
·
York Region:
Markham Vaughan and East Gwillimbury.
·
Durham Region: Oshawa, Port Perry, Pickering
and the Township of Brock.
·
Halton Region: Milton.
Toronto also runs a
"toxics taxi" service that collects household hazardous waste. The
service can be reached at 416-392-4330.
Geoff Rathbone of
Toronto's solid-waste management division said the used bulbs are sent to a
Kitchener-area company that captures the mercury and sells it for reuse.
Disposal of compact
fluorescent bulbs is mentioned on waste-management calendars distributed to
households across the city, but not on the Toronto website — an omission that
Rathbone said will be fixed.
Katrina Miller of the
Toronto Environmental Alliance said ideally there would be some sort of system
where consumers could return used bulbs.
In the northwest
United States, for example, some stores take back used fluorescents for a
25-cent fee, Miller said. Her preference would be for a deposit-return system
to encourage bulb recycling.
Stores are the
logical places to collect old bulbs, she said, "because that's where
people tend to go to buy these things. It tends to be the easiest place for
consumers to go."
Nick Cowling of The
Home Depot Canada said his company's stores are now selling slightly more
compact fluorescent bulbs than conventional incandescents. Home Depot has
promoted the bulbs more than other retailers and sells a higher percentage than
its competitors, Cowling said.
The company would
like to help consumers dispose of the bulbs safely, but it needs to study the
issue, he said.
"We're trying to
figure out a way to do it," he said.
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