Senator Praises Efforts to Recycle Fluorescent Lamps

VaporLok Products LLC, a health and safety company headquartered in Mankato, Minn, has joined the efforts of Wal-Mart to help answer the question of what to do with burned-out fluorescent lamps.

By Consulting Specifying Engineer Staff July 17, 2007

VaporLok Products LLC, a health and safety company headquartered in Mankato, Minn, has joined the efforts of Wal-Mart to help answer the question of what to do with burned-out fluorescent lamps. On June 23, Wal-Mart began placing kiosks at all its Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club locations in California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Tulsa, Okla. For one day, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., kiosks gave consumers the opportunity to bring their burned-out compact and tubular fluorescent lamps to stores for free, safe and effective recycling. The lamps were placed in special recycling containers inside VaporLok patent-pending, foil zip-closure bags. VaporLok Products has enabled this program as the inventor and producer of the first and only bag proven effective in containing mercury vapor from broken fluorescent lamps. The company supplied the patent-pending bags for these kiosks to help ensure that safe, effective recycling of lamps would continue to be a common practice long after Saturday’s event.

“Our VaporLok bags are instrumental in making recycling of fluorescent lamps safer and more practical, protecting consumers from low levels of mercury vapor. These containers are the only containers tested and proven effective in meeting government regulations, such as the Universal Waste Rule which governs mercury device transportation, and OSHA requirements for 8-hour personal exposure limit,” said Brad J. Buscher, chairman and CEO of VaporLok Products. “We are gratified to be an integral part of the Wal-Mart lamp recycling program.”

Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman commented, “It’s very encouraging to see a local Minnesota technology company like VaporLok Products team up with an industry leader like Wal-Mart to promote safe recycling of fluorescent lamps and encourage the usage of new energy-saving compact fluorescent lighting products.”