Starting today, British Columbia has Canada’s first comprehensive program to recycle all lighting products without charge.
In Castlegar, items such as bulbs and tubes are accepted for recycling by Mountainhigh Lighting at 301 11th Ave.
For the time being, at least, the Trail Bottle Depot at 562 Rossland Ave. will be the closest free drop-off point for items including fixtures, ballasts, etc.
LightRecycle is a non-profit program to recycle lighting products in British Columbia. Since 2010, LightRecycle has accepted residential-use fluorescent lights at collection sites across the province. The expanded LightRecycle program now accepts all lighting products for recycling without charge, including all types of lights (bulbs and tubes), ballasts and lighting fixtures used in residential, institutional, commercial and industrial applications.
LightRecycle has two separate collection system channels – an expanding consumer collection network for residential-use lighting products and a new large volume generator collection network for lighting products used in industrial, commercial and institutional applications. Examples of large volume generators include contractors, businesses, relampers, schools, hospitals, building managers and more. Each channel has specific collection options available based on the type and volume of products to be recycled.
“LightRecycle is one of 14 industry-managed recycling programs in the province that reinforces British Columbia’s position as North America’s leader in environmental stewardship and recycling,” said Brock Macdonald, CEO of the Recycling Council of British Columbia. “Expanding the program to include all lighting products from all sectors means that fewer recyclable materials will end up in landfill.”
The expanded LightRecycle covers lights (bulbs and tubes), ballasts and lighting fixtures. All types of lights are accepted under both channels, including fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), halogen and incandescent bulbs, light emitting diodes (LEDs) and high intensity discharge lamps (HID).
A lighting fixture is any product with a primary purpose to provide light. Common examples of residential-use lighting fixtures include floor lamps, chandeliers, table lamps, ceiling lights, flashlights and Christmas lights. Examples of fixtures that will be recycled by large volume generators include street lights and large outdoor flood lights.
There are more than 200 collection sites for consumers to drop off their burnt-out lights (bulbs and tubes) and over 80 collection sites across the province for consumers to drop off their old or broken lighting fixtures. There is no charge to drop off lighting products for recycling.