Take Back the Light was Canada’s leading light recycling program for businesses and institutions and provided a simple low-cost opportunity to have mercury-containing lamps recycled responsibly. The program was the first of its kind in Canada and demonstrated the power of procurement to influence how products were managed at end-of-life.
The program worked with both buyers and sellers to utilize reverse logistics to recover and properly recycle lights to the highest environmental standards. Ninety-eight per cent (98%) of each light collected was diverted from disposal with component parts reused wherever possible creating a closed loops systems and fostering a more circular economy.
More than 31 million lights were recovered through the program and diverted more than 110 kg of mercury from entering the environment.
With Take Back the Light, our approved processors adhered to the highest standards in lightbulb recycling. We required proof of mercury collection, the reason behind our entire mandate!
Proper bulb recycling means bulbs are crushed and separated into their respective components, which find their way back into other markets. Recovered phosphor powder was separated and sent for reuse, and metallic mercury was also distilled and cleaned to be collected and kept in circulation.
31,465,093 units
7,427,649.9 kg
110.67532 kg
106,226.15 kg
109,058.01 kg
47,197.64 kg
7,690,242.3347 kg
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Circular Innovation Council is a registered charity.
Charity Registration Number: 119112118 RR 0001