Diagnostic of management of lamps and batteries at the Federal University in São Carlos

Abstract

The approval of the national policy on solid waste in 2010 brought a new perspective to promote regulation of solid waste management in the country. The electronics waste correspond to any post-use materials generated from electronic gadgets and appliances including batteries, magnetized products and fluorescent lamps. The presence of non-renewables heavy metals, as mercury and lead, in the composition of these materials make they falls within at the first waste class - dangerous, because their physical, chemical and infectious properties can pose a risk to human health and to the environment when improperly handled or disposed. In Brazil is worrying the situation related to the discard of these type of waste, once 94% of all lamps consumed at the country are discarded in common landfills, exposing the environment and people at these components to about 1.5 to 3.5 tons of mercury coming from lamps. In this context, this scientific initiation aims to realize a diagnostic of management of lamps and batteries at the Federal University in São Carlos, identifying existing choices and presenting alternatives and guidelines for the management of lamps and batteries.