Abstract: A reclamation system for breaking, consolidating, and shipping used fluorescent lamp tubes comprising a breaking chamber consisting of a flexible portion or tube where multiple lamp tubes are broken by being struck with a mallet. The breaking chamber is then ready to be packed and sent to a recycling depot. In another embodiment, the broken tubes are dumped directly from the breaking chamber into a receiving drum. When the drum is full, the breaking chamber is folded back and forth on itself and stored on the lid of the receiving drum. This seals the drum, without being opened in the field. A protective cap is then attached and the filled drum along with the breaking chamber is shipped to a recycling depot where it is emptied, cleaned, re-furbished, and returned to the field ready to receive another load of fluorescent tubes. In both embodiments, the vapors and dust are within a sealed apparatus from the time of loading with whole tubes to the opening at the recycling depot.

Abstract: In a plastic pipe joining system a plastic sleeve is provided to extend on both sides beyond the region of contact or closest approach to one another of pipes to be joined with the sleeve being fused to both pipes, the sleeve heated to Curie temperature of high mu material excited by an externally generated high frequency magnetic field. The heater may be embedded in the sleeve and the sleeve may also be employed with end caps that extended over the sleeve, the end caps and sleeve being fused to one another and the pipes by heaters carried by the end caps or the sleeve. An external heater may also be employed which in conjuction with shaped end members provides the sleeve with beveled or tapered edges to enhance the ability of the sleeve to withstand cracking.