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R. G. Malucelli et al.
can be discarded in landfills, however, it is mentioned that it is not possible to recycle
the glass, since the type of glass used in the production of lamps is different from
conventional glasses. Halogen lamps are a type of incandescent lamp, differentiated
only by having halogen elements (iodine or bromine) in their composition, however
it isn’t a potential risk to the environment (Zanicheli et al. 2004).
In the case of LED lamps, they have no glass, metallic filaments, mercury or other
types of toxic substances in their composition. Disposal is facilitated for this type of
lamp, approximately 95% of the lamp is recyclable, requiring no special treatment
(Bez 2016).
Fluorescent lamps are considered solid waste and must be submitted to recycling
or reuse of waste and after all types of treatment have been carried out, the waste
must be disposed of correctly (Brazil et al. 2011). PNRS distinguishes between “solid
waste” and “waste”. Solid waste is, according to art. 3rd, item XVI, of the PNRS, “all
material, substance, object or discarded goods that are the result of human activities
in societies” (BRASIL 2010). On the other hand, waste is “solid residues that, after
all the possibilities of treatment and recovery by available and economically viable
technological processes have been exhausted, do not present any possibility other
than the final environmentally appropriate disposal” (BRASIL 2010, art. 3, item XV).
For recycling of fluorescent lamps, it is necessary to apply technologies related to
the treatment of mercury so that they can be reused. In Brazil, technologies are simple
grinding, grinding with chemical or thermal treatment, by blowing and solidification
(Bacila et al. 2014). After undergoing one of these decontamination processes, they
can be reused in various industrial sectors. Glass, for example, can be used for the
production of new lamps or for packaging non-food products. Phosphorus powder
can be used in cement factories. Aluminum connections with their ferro-metallic
components can be used in the aluminum foundry industry. Bakelitic insulation is
the only one that cannot be recycled and must have an environmentally appropriate
final destination (Durão and Windmöller 2006).
According to the Attorney’s Office of the Republic of the Federal District through
its Technical report No. 65/2006, fluorescent lamps, if intact, cannot pose a risk to
the environment and human health. However, if fragmentation is caused, mercury
vapor is released and remains for weeks. Moraes (2015) explains that because it is
the most volatile of all metals, its main means of environmental contamination is
through atmospheric emissions.
Pawlowski (2011) describes that mercury is a bio accumulative toxic pollutant and,
after being released, it is not possible to remove it from the earth’s surface. Mercury,
when free in the environment, remains circulating between air, water, sediment, soil,
and biota, taking other chemical forms with different levels of toxicity. If mercury
meets water, it becomes methylmercury, the most toxic metallic form (Ministério do
Meio Ambiente 2013). According to Moraes (2015), methylmercury, as a metal, has
the properties of bioaccumulation and biomagnification, in other words, it is able to
concentrate on living organisms and at various levels of the food chain, accumulating
greater concentration at each trophic level.
R. G. Malucelli et al.
can be discarded in landfills, however, it is mentioned that it is not possible to recycle
the glass, since the type of glass used in the production of lamps is different from
conventional glasses. Halogen lamps are a type of incandescent lamp, differentiated
only by having halogen elements (iodine or bromine) in their composition, however
it isn’t a potential risk to the environment (Zanicheli et al. 2004).
In the case of LED lamps, they have no glass, metallic filaments, mercury or other
types of toxic substances in their composition. Disposal is facilitated for this type of
lamp, approximately 95% of the lamp is recyclable, requiring no special treatment
(Bez 2016).
Fluorescent lamps are considered solid waste and must be submitted to recycling
or reuse of waste and after all types of treatment have been carried out, the waste
must be disposed of correctly (Brazil et al. 2011). PNRS distinguishes between “solid
waste” and “waste”. Solid waste is, according to art. 3rd, item XVI, of the PNRS, “all
material, substance, object or discarded goods that are the result of human activities
in societies” (BRASIL 2010). On the other hand, waste is “solid residues that, after
all the possibilities of treatment and recovery by available and economically viable
technological processes have been exhausted, do not present any possibility other
than the final environmentally appropriate disposal” (BRASIL 2010, art. 3, item XV).
For recycling of fluorescent lamps, it is necessary to apply technologies related to
the treatment of mercury so that they can be reused. In Brazil, technologies are simple
grinding, grinding with chemical or thermal treatment, by blowing and solidification
(Bacila et al. 2014). After undergoing one of these decontamination processes, they
can be reused in various industrial sectors. Glass, for example, can be used for the
production of new lamps or for packaging non-food products. Phosphorus powder
can be used in cement factories. Aluminum connections with their ferro-metallic
components can be used in the aluminum foundry industry. Bakelitic insulation is
the only one that cannot be recycled and must have an environmentally appropriate
final destination (Durão and Windmöller 2006).
According to the Attorney’s Office of the Republic of the Federal District through
its Technical report No. 65/2006, fluorescent lamps, if intact, cannot pose a risk to
the environment and human health. However, if fragmentation is caused, mercury
vapor is released and remains for weeks. Moraes (2015) explains that because it is
the most volatile of all metals, its main means of environmental contamination is
through atmospheric emissions.
Pawlowski (2011) describes that mercury is a bio accumulative toxic pollutant and,
after being released, it is not possible to remove it from the earth’s surface. Mercury,
when free in the environment, remains circulating between air, water, sediment, soil,
and biota, taking other chemical forms with different levels of toxicity. If mercury
meets water, it becomes methylmercury, the most toxic metallic form (Ministério do
Meio Ambiente 2013). According to Moraes (2015), methylmercury, as a metal, has
the properties of bioaccumulation and biomagnification, in other words, it is able to
concentrate on living organisms and at various levels of the food chain, accumulating
greater concentration at each trophic level.