LED lamp recycling isn’t straightforward and traditional lamp recycling systems don’t make much impact on these types of lamps.
A traditional tube or lamp consists of a thin metal / plastic cap and glass. They rely on mercury in the phosphor powder to produce the various white colour we see. Due to the mercury content, they are classed as hazardous and have to be recycled with a system that uses special activated carbon to remove mercury for the vapour.
The problem for any lamp recycler is LED’s usually to come mixed with other lamps. Whilst this mix can be put through a Balcan Lamp Recycling System without causing damage, they may cause a lot of damage to lamp recycling machines from other manufacturers due to the LED structure.
As the numbers of LED lamps in the waste stream increases it becomes necessary to look for a specific recycling solution like the Balcan LED1000 lamp processor.
Usually, lamp recycling companies only process lamps, as opposed to general or other electronic waste. This means without a recycling system for LED the only other option is to send them out to another lamp recycler who has suitable equipment (at a cost) or to invest in equipment.
The valuable commodity in LED is the aluminium, with the early generations of LED having much higher levels. In addition there is a ferrous and non-ferrous fraction and by separating these into their individual streams gives the greatest return on investment.