LED Recycling Becomes a New Topic

LED is short for light emitting diode. First used in 1968. LEDs are semiconductors that emit light by electricity. Currently LED lighting has been widely used in various lighting, and gradually replaced the traditional white flag bulb. Although LED lamps are much more environmentally friendly than traditional lamps, recycling of LEDs is still very important.

LED performance and application

There are several reasons why LEDs replace traditional white flag bulbs.

First, the life span of LEDs is usually longer than that of traditional white light bulbs. The average life span of white light bulbs is 1200 hours, and the average life span of LED light bulbs is 50,000 hours.

Second, LED bulbs consume less power and have a higher degree of illumination. This makes LED a cost-effective and environmentally friendly technology. In addition, LED bulbs do not contain mercury as in CFL bulbs (mercury is harmful to the environment). LED lights are also very durable and can withstand more wear than traditional light bulbs. LED is not the lighting that will be affected by the climate, neither moisture nor low temperature will affect the operation of LED lighting. LED bulbs emit only 10% of the conventional light bulb emissions.

The LED application product category is more and more extensive, including:

TV screens, laboratory equipment, mobile phones, watches, computers, home lighting, retailer electric lighting, traffic signs, and car brake lights. These are some of the applications for LEDs. LEDs will continue to replace tungsten lamps and more LEDs will be used in everyday life.

LED recycling

LED is always environmentally friendly during the product life cycle, but if it can be recycled, it will be more environmentally friendly. More than 95% of the LEDs are recyclable, and waste recycling companies will recycle old LED lighting products at a low price.

When LEDs do not contain any harmful substances, they are classified as RoHS compliant. RoHS was passed in the United Kingdom in January 2006, restricting the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. This restriction prevents the sale of products containing mercury, lead, cadmium, polybrominated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers and hexavalent chromium. By meeting this standard, LEDs can be handled and recycled just like ordinary bulbs.

The general process of recycling is to crush and separate the LED bulbs, using a strip screen to form the assembly. In this step, the glass passes a magnetic field that can move any non-ferrous metal material. In order to remove the aluminum and lead from the LED, a non-ferrous metal separator was blasted in the broken glass to guide the metal to a separate metal tank. The rest of the glass can be made into other products just like aluminum. Glass does not degrade due to recycling, so it can be recycled and used repeatedly.

In the UK, LED lighting is governed by the WEEE standard and determines when LED products should be eliminated. WEEE is the abbreviation of waste electrical and electronic equipment, and the standard for the recovery of electrical and electronic equipment was established to encourage the public to recycle. The EPA has recently changed the WEEE regulations and all LED companies must comply, such as Recolight. Under the new regulations, people have to check whether the lighting producer has to deal with the cost of recycling according to the WEEE 9.2 regulations.

Recycling LED benefits to the environment

Although LED itself is environmentally friendly, if it is properly recycled, the impact on the environment will be even smaller. According to a recent study by the University of California, most LED lamps contain a high proportion of nickel, while colored LED lamps contain a large amount of lead. In addition, the arsenic content is also exceeded. These substances are not only harmful to the environment, but also affect human health. Although LEDs are more environmentally friendly than conventional lamps, they cannot be lost just as white flag bulbs are used up. The impact of LEDs may be long-term. LEDs also contain a large amount of aluminum, and the cause of the greater impact than a typical light bulb may be due to the energy and resources used in manufacturing. In view of the significant increase in demand for LED lamps in recent years, the recycling of LEDs is more important than prolonging the lifetime of LEDs, making it possible to continue using LEDs in the future.