Too many recyclable light bulbs are not being recycled in Europe principally because of the difficulty consumers have in identifying the different kinds of bulb and what to do with them when they become waste, according to a study published on Friday 28 July by EucoLight (European Association of lighting WEEE compliance scheme).
The study, commissioned by EucoLight and carried out by GFK, was conducted in six member states (Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Romania) between March and May 2017, with 1,000 adult consumers in each country responding to an online questionnaire or in a face-to-face survey.
It reveals that the main areas of confusion in the minds of consumers relate to people’s difficulty in differentiating between energy-saving, LED, incandescent and halogen bulbs when shown images and uncertainty as to what should be done with them when they become waste (dustbin, municipal collection point/recycling centre, bottle banks, special waste or elsewhere) so that each of the various kinds of bulb can be recycled.
Call for single container. The findings of the survey confirm the position of EucoLight, that all types of lamps should be collected together in the same container. This would avoid a decrease in recycling efficiency and a possible decline in the recycling rate resulting from consumer confusion.
The findings were very similar in all the countries surveyed. In the case of energy-saving light bulbs, between 27% and 42% of respondents identified them correctly, as opposed to 18%-35% who confused them with LED bulbs. When asked to identify an LED bulb, only between 14% and 23% of respondents classified it correctly, while between 31% and 45% thought it was an energy-saving light bulb. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)