Bulb Eater for Nepal

Summary

What: Help us purchase a Bulb Eater to be used in Nepal.

Why: Mercury is dangerous and mercury lamps need to be handled with care. Nepal unfortunately only landfills these lights releasing this noxious gas into the atmosphere and putting our health and environment at risk.

Cost: $10,000 to purchase, import, and set up operations in the Doko Recyclers E-Waste Facility.

Who are we?

Doko Recyclers is a social enterprise that manages and recycles dry waste in Nepal. Our goal is to conserve resources that would otherwise be wasted in landfills and lead to environmental degradation. We recycle, upcycle, and repurpose everything from plastic and glass to e-waste in an environmentally safe and health risk-free manner.

The Problem:

While many electronic goods can be recycled, dismantled or repurposed, mercury bulbs cannot. The mercury vapor in these fragile lights is too dangerous to the environment and our health when in large amounts. Mercury is known to cause cancer, nerve damage, and organ failure. When this vapor seeps into our soil, air, and water, it finds its way in our systems. It hurts wild and water life too.

About 5 million mercury lights are imported into Nepal every year, and most of it lands up in landfills, by road and riversides, or are burned releasing those very same vapors we want to keep away from us and the environment.

We realize that recycling these bulbs has little commercial value. They are fragile, considered hazardous waste and needs to be managed differently than traditional recyclables. Yet, the environmental and health cost of not managing this problem is too high.

The Solution:

We are raising $10,000 to import a Bulb Eater to help us safely handle these lights and reduce the number of mercury bulbs making it to landfills, thus limiting its chemical impact on us.

Bulb eaters crush mercury bulbs into glass powder while absorbing the vapor into charcoal filters neutralizing the vapor. Once the vapor is removed, the glass can be recycled.

What are mercury lamps?

Mercury lights are all around us. They are your household CFL fluorescent bulbs, HIDs in streetlights and floodlights, and neon lights on billboards.

Details on the Bulb Eater we are eyeing, you might be interested in:

Crushing Capacity: 30 lamps per minute

Hepa Filter life: 10 drums (30,000 bulbs)

Filter System : 3 stage filter system comprising of a Bag filter, Hepa Filter and Activated carbon filter

Cost breakdown:

Bulb eater : $6,770

Attachments (inclusive of HEPA, Bag and Charcoal filters, and Drum): $770

Import costs (including taxes): $1,645

Setup (logistics): $1,015

Total: $10,200

** Once sufficient funds are raised, we will stop this crowdfunding campaign.

Visit our website at https://www.dokorecyclers.com/