Lighting Council to lead FluoroCycle

Lighting Council Australia has officially taken on responsibility for the FluoroCycle scheme. The voluntary scheme aims to reduce the amount of harmful mercury entering the environment from the disposal of waste mercury-containing lamps.

In its first three years the scheme was jointly delivered by the Lighting Council Australia and the Australian Government, with the latter providing $600,000 in funding over this period. To date the scheme has gathered 189 signatories, several of which were formally recognised at an event held in June.

Speaking at the launch of the industry-led scheme, Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment and Urban Water Amanda Rishworth said Lighting Council Australia is setting an important example for other industries by playing its part as product stewards for mercury-containing lamps.

“Many lamps that contain mercury end up in landfill each year, posing a potential risk to the environment and human health,” she said. “In fact, mercury-containing lamps contribute an estimated 2-3% of Australia’s total annual emissions of mercury.”

She said that joining FluoroCycle is an “ideal way for businesses to do something practical to help the environment” and encouraged “both private companies and public organisations such as local councils and government departments” to sign up.

Lighting Council Australia is the peak body for Australia’s lighting industry and its goal is to encourage the use of environmentally appropriate, energy-efficient, quality lighting systems. The Council has advised that it strongly supports the government’s Product Stewardship Act 2011 and will seek accreditation for FluoroCycle as an industry-led, voluntary arrangement under the Act.

Rishworth said the Act provides the framework for a flexible and practical approach to managing the life cycle of products and recognises that each product, material and industry is different. Featuring three types of accreditation for product stewardship - voluntary, co-regulatory and mandatory - the Act “aims to ensure we all share responsibility for the products we consume, from the point of design and manufacture right up until their disposal,” Rishworth said.

Both FluoroCycle and the Product Stewardship Act 2011 are priority initiatives under Australia’s National Waste Policy.