india

Updated: Jun 25, 2014 23:55 IST

A group of young engineers have formulated an environment friendly way of reusing compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) used in households at a cost of Rs 1.

Led by engineers Shubham Manocha, 19, and Shivinder Singh Chandok, 20 — students of National Power Training Institute — the project ‘Prajwal’ aims at mobilising the Resident Welfare Associations of various colonies of the city to collect used CFLs. The students will repair and return the CFLs to the RWAs.

This means that instead of disposing of these lamps after use, consumers will now get a chance to use them again.

This would not only be a cheaper alternative but will also help in reducing the number of such lamps buried in landfills every year in the capital.

“This project is not only an environment friendly way of reusing bulbs but through this initiative we have also created employment for the youth, women and disabled individuals who cannot find viable work opportunities in the market. We have trained them to repair these bulbs so that they will be able to be a valued resource to the society,” said Manocha.

With the help of these ‘micro electricians’, these students aim at creating a market for second-hand bulbs.

“We want to make these available at low rates such that even people from lower economic backgrounds will be able to afford them. These repaired bulbs work for almost as long a new bulb would,” assured Chandok.

In India, more than 300 million CFLs end up in landfills each year and take thousands of years to decompose.

Even if they start decomposing, environmentalists across the globe have raised their concerns that these bulbs leave behind huge mercury footprints.

These poison the soil and the surrounding environment.

“A healthy way would be to reuse these bulbs and reduce the burden on Delhi’s landfills,” said Shalini Bhal, environmentalist, who works with Jawaharlal Nehru University.