Dron & Dickson of Stirling has developed a recycling scheme which it calls a “cradle to grave” service that covers the whole life span of a lamp, with Shanks collecting it at the end. Oil giant Shell has already signed up to the initiative, which is part of the Sustainalite lamp recycling scheme that ensures companies deliver their promises to recycle lamps.
Colin Rowley, sales and marketing director of Dron & Dickson, said: “The scheme provides the client with a single point of contact, a single contract and a single price covering 100% of the costs. When a customer buys the lamps, they get a credit for free recycling. When they want their lamps recycled, Shanks do not bill them – we pay the cost.”
Although the cost of recycling is 40-60p per lamp, the company said it had not increased the price of its long-life lamps to cover this service. “We've been selling long-life lamps for a number of years and haven't increased the price for 3 years,” said Mr Rowley. “This is a marketing exercise to persuade clients to come to us. If I offer recycling free of charge, there is no need for a sales call or a sales engineer – there are less overheads. We did a balancing act.”
Dron & Dickson offers two options for lamp recycling. Under the first option, they sell a company an Aura long life lamp and guarantee to recycle it at the end of its life. The second and more comprehensive option sees the firm supply, install, maintain and recycle lamps. There is an additional charge for this service, dependent on the nature and location of the work. However, by offering a single point of contact, Dron & Dickson can quote a single price for work covering a lamp's whole life.
Any materials covered under the WEEE directive will be recycled. At the moment, the operation primarily applies to standard fluorescent lamps, but those containing sodium or mercury vapour can also be recycled for an extra charge based on the market rate of around 1.20 per lamp.
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