Written question asked by Lord Lawson of Blaby (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Jones of Birmingham (Other (affiliation)) on Wednesday, 17 October 2007.

Mercury: Light Bulbs

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they have taken to publicise the threat to the environment from the mercury contained in low-energy light bulbs.

Answer: Low-energy light bulbs contain a small dose of mercury and should be disposed of responsibly. Recent legislation which implements two EC directives on electrical and electronic equipment limits the amount of mercury which such bulbs may contain and sets up a framework for disposing of them in an environmentally safe manner. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006 (WEEE) require all distributors of low-energy light bulbs—referred to in the legislation as ““compact fluorescent lamps””—to provide information to consumers and other users on the requirement not to dispose of such bulbs and a wide range of other electrical and electronic equipment as unsorted municipal waste; the return and collection systems available to them; their role in contributing to reuse, recovery and recycling; the potential effects on the environment and human health of any hazardous substances in this equipment; and the meaning of the wheeled bin symbol which is placed on products. The Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006 (RoHS) prohibited the placing on the market of such bulbs that contain more than 5mg of mercury per bulb from 1 July 2006.

Secondary information