Recycling of mercury containing lamps in Flanders
ETT 53729 – Kiev, Ukraine
25-26.11.2013
Christof DelatterAssociation of Flemish Cities and Municipalities
www.vvsg.beTel. +32 2 211.55.99
E-mail: [email protected]
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This Presentation
• About Flanders• Results of Flemish waste management policy• Basic competences• WEEE legislation• WEEE collection• Recycling of mercury containing lamps• Financing
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Flanders (1)
• 3 Belgian regions: Flanders, Brussels, Wallonia• Land area Flanders: ± 13.500 km² (45% of Belgium)• Flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills• Population: just over 6 million• Population density: ± 440 inh./km²• Intense pressures from human activities: densely
populated, dense transportation network, industry, intensive cattle breeding (millions of porcs, chickens, cows) and crop cultivation
• High quantities of waste ↔ pressure on land use
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Flanders (2)
• 308 municipalities• Average population: ± 18.000
inh/municipality• Smallest municipality: 84
inhabitants• Largest city: 472.071 inhabitants• Rural municipalities as well as
densely populated cities• All are member of VVSG• Waste management largely
organized through intermunicipal cooperation
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Flanders (3)
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Flemish waste management: results (1)
• Very successful separate collection: • Results at the top• Doorstep collection of lots of recyclables• Bring system (> 340 civic amenity sites)• Very high recycling rate
• 2002: first year in which the growth in waste production stopped
• Since 2006: no more landfilling of household waste• Commercial waste…?
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Flemish waste management: results (2)
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Flemish waste management: results (3)
2010 1991
Production 525 kg
/inhabitant/year 406 kg
/inhabitant/year
Separate collection (total)
374 kg
/inhabitant/year 71 %
75 kg /inhabitant/year
= 18 %
Residual waste 150 kg*
/inhabitant/year331 kg
/inhabitant/year
*all of it incinerated with energy recovery
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Competences (1)
• In Belgium: regions have considerable political autonomy• fully responsible for environmental matters (incl. spatial
planning), except:• Nuclear waste• Waste transit through Belgium• Product Policy• European and International Policy (joint decisionmaking)
• Regional waste management legislation, waste management planning with objectives, targets, minimum requirements for service
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Competences (2)
• One public waste authority on Flemish (regional) level, established in 1981 (OVAM), responsible for working out regional waste management plans
• Municipalities are legally responsible for organizing the collection and treatment of household waste• Free choice between organizing through own (inter)municipal
services; tendering; public-private partnerships
• Producer responsibility for certain waste streams like WEEE, packaging waste, batteries,…• Fluorescent and energy saving lamps are included in producer
responsibility for WEEE
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WEEE - Legislation (1)
• 1997: decision for gradual introduction of PR for WEEE: 1 for 1 take back obligation to start on 1st of July 1999
• But……• Municipalities already collected WEEE on civic amenity
sites (mostly as scrap metal)• Producers not very keen to start with own collection system• Hard negotiations about responsibilities and cost of
collection• “Agreement” between producers and central government was
reached in 2001• Collection by the producers started on 1st of July 2001 (2
years later than required in legislation)• Only one recognized organism of WEEE-industry in Belgium
(for household WEEE) : Recupel
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WEEE - Legislation (2)
• Today: acceptance duty and deal covering most costs for collection on civic amenity sites
• Recupel:• Not for profit organization of producers and importers
• Receives the environmental fees paid by consumers
• Organizes tenders for collection and treatment (is no collector of waste itself)
• Has to agree on contracts with local authorities collecting WEEE
• Provides a collection container
• Reports to the government on quantities put on the market and collected for recycling
• Organizes national communication campaigns
• Supports local communication
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WEEE - Collection (1)
Consumer
Reuse center ShopMunicipality
Regional transfer station(intermunicipal organisation)
Waste transportation company
Recycling/treatment companies
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WEEE-Collection (2)
• Quantities collected in Belgium (mercury containing lights)
Pas aan bij: Invoegen / Koptekst en Voettekst14 - 10-04-23
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Collection on civic amenity sites
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Recycling of mercury containing lamps (1)
• In Flanders: 2 companies for recycling of mercury containing lamps (Indaver Relight and Steenhaut)
• Treatment process:• Fluorescent powder is forced out of the lamps with compressed air• Lamps are broken into fine pieces and sieved into different
fractions:• Iron• Glass• Mercury containing fluorescent powder
• Metals and glass go to post purification step (treatment at 200 °C) to make them totally mercury free and fit for recycling
• Distillation and recovery of mercury from the fluorescent powder
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Recycling of mercury containing lamps (2)
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Recycling of mercury containing lamps (3)
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Recycling of mercury containing lamps (4)
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WEEE - Financing (1)
Tax payer
Consumer
Recupel (producers) Shops
Waste companies
Regional transfer stations (intermunicipal)
Municipalities
Reuse centers
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WEEE-Financing (2)
• Current product fees for LED-lamps, fluorescent light bulbs and energy saving lamps:• 0,20 euro including VAT• (0,1653 VAT not included)• Appliances with integrated lamps: environmental fee is integrated
in the total fee for the appliance
• For collection, municipalities receive a fee:• 0,0080 euro/inhabitant/year• 90,40 euro per tonne collected
• Transport, treatment, recycling is funded directly by Recupel
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Conclusions
• Producer responsibility has proven to be a strong tool to enhance collection and treatment of mercury containing lamps• Easy path to create necessary cash flow, but integration of full
environmental cost is an absolute condition• Stability allowing investment in treatment• Cooperation with municipalities for collection• Give consumers different well chosen options
• Even in Flanders: still a long way to go to ‘capture’ all mercury containing lamps
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Questions ?
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