Shining with toxic light (3)

The response

Whilst the imminent risks have been raised among various levels of government, the response thus far remains muted.

The Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress released a draft in September to solicit public opinions on energy saving. The draft, which is still online, stipulates that battery and energy-efficient bulb producers, sellers and importers would need to collect the waste products throughout the province. A fine of up to 50,000 yuan could be issued if they refuse.

Meanwhile, some private enterprises have begun to take action. Shanghai-based energy-efficient bulb company Opple established recovery boxes for wasted bulbs in 17 communities across the city in November 2011, news portal xinmin.cn reported.

In Deqing county, Zhejiang Province, volunteers gave bulb owners 0.5 yuan for each of the energy-efficient bulbs collected, the Changchun Evening News reported on October 31.

Song Zhiliang said he usually smashes the bulbs he collects to reduce the amount of heavy metal before delivering them to toxic garbage disposal plants.

"One individual's strength is limited. I hope the government provides more support for this," Song said.

Just as the first batch of light bulbs is reaching the end of its service life, local government officials are looking to expand the program further.

Since November, cities including Dalian in Liaoning Province, Pingdingshan in Henan Province and Jingjiang in Jiangsu Province, have moved quickly to provide another round of subsidies for the purchase of such bulbs.

The annual consumption on these energy-saving lamps will surpass 1 billion in the near future, the Economic Information Daily reported on October 29.