Index
Awards
RMIT’s Certificate of Recycling Excellence.
Used fluorescent tubes collected from RMIT.
2008
Certificate of Recycling Excellence awarded by Advanced Recycling Australasia P/L
Advanced Recycling Australasia awarded RMIT with the Certificate of Recycling Excellence for the University’s fluorescent tube and lamps recycling program. The program was initiated by Dr Abbas Mohajerani, from the School of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, as part of his research into the toxic effects of mercury.
Since September, 2007, RMIT’s fluorescent tube and lamp recycling team, comprised of Property Services Maintenance staff – Con Nicholaou (Electrical Coordinator) and Service Assistants, Mario DiMuzio, Peter Varvaroutsos and Peter McKenzie – has collected 2,544kg of used fluorescent tubes and 884 kg of lamps from the City and Bundoora campuses. Advanced Recycling Australasia is responsible for removing the fluorescent tubes and lamps from RMIT and recycling them.
Property Services anticipates that around 20,000 fluorescent light tubes will be recycled on an annual basis through the Advanced Recycling Australasia Pty Ltd program.
To date, RMIT is one of only a few Australian universities to recycle mercury from its used light tubes.
Advance Recycling Australasia uses state-of-the-art technology to extract the mercury from the used tubes and lamps. The mercury is re-used in the manufacture of dental amalgam.
The aluminium from tube ends is also recycled into ingots for use in foundries; the glass in the tubes is recycled into glass wool used to insulate homes; and phosphor powder becomes fertiliser.