Fluorescent buld disposal bag
A disposal bag for providing a safe and low-cost hazardous material contamination device is extremely durable and easily distributed with a greater resistance to puncture while containing hazardous material like mercury released from fluorescent light bulbs when the glass envelope is broken.
This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 60/686,505 filed Jun. 1, 2005 for a Disposal Bag.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improvements in containers for disposing of hazardous waste materials and more particularly pertains to new and improved bags for disposing of fluorescent bulbs.
2. Description of Related Art
Fluorescent bulbs or high intensity discharge (HID) bulbs are becoming very popular. The disposal of these bulbs at the end of their life, however, presents problems due to the toxic mercury contained within the glass envelope and the propensity of the glass envelope to shatter during transport, releasing mercury into the environment. Even when a HID bulb is in a container, when a bulb breaks, the shards of glass from the broken bulb tend to puncture the container, creating an escape path for mercury.
The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) prohibits the direct disposal of HID bulbs because of their mercury content and the inherent danger of the mercury escaping into the environment when the glass envelope is broken (40 CFR Parts 260-269).
Traditional containment devices for fluorescent and HID bulbs tend to be deficient because of their inability to resist puncture by the shattered glass of the bulb envelope and its inability to contain the exposed mercury in a safe and low cost manner for long periods of time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe disposal bag of the present invention provides an enclosure of a predetermined shape made of a low density Polyethylene and Metalycen material. The enclosure has one opening with a sealing patch to seal the opening after a spent bulb has been placed inside for transport to a disposal facility.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe exact nature of this invention, as well as the objects and advantages thereof, will become readily apparent upon consideration of the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the figures thereof and wherein:
The present invention provides a disposal bag that is safe and low cost, yet functions as a hazardous material containment device that is extremely durable and easily distributable. The containment bag of the present invention has greater ability than traditional containment devices to resist puncturing and thereby contain mercury released from fluorescent and HID light bulbs if the glass envelopes break during transport.
A disposal bag 11 of
To seal the open end of the bag, after a bulb has been placed inside, it is preferred that the open end be folded twice at first fold line 17 and then again at second fold line 19, before being pressed against and held fast by exposed adhesive strip 23 on the bag material 13.
As shown in
In order to contain the glass shards, and more important, the mercury escaping from the glass envelope of the fluorescent bulb, the bag must be made of material sufficiently strong and puncture resistant. It has been discovered that the use of embossing on the sheet material utilized to make the disposable bags increases the puncture resistance of that material by a considerable amount. The different embossing shapes that are preferred are illustrated in
The form of the disposal bag in a flat envelope, facilitates storage of the bags as a long web of material 61, as shown in
The disposal bag preferably has a safety orange color with 105 clarity. The bag may come in a variety of sizes to handle the various sized bulbs in the market today. For example, the bag could be 4″×101″, 4″×53″, 3″×29″, 12″×27″ or 12″×12″. Besides packaging the bags in roll form as shown in
Claims
1. A disposal bag comprising:
- an enclosure of a predetermined shape made of a low density Polyethylene and Metalycen material;
- an opening in the material of the enclosure; and
- a sealant patch at the opening of the material to seal the opening.
2. The disposal bag of claim 1, wherein the material is approximately 70% low density Polyethylene.
3. The disposal bag of claim 1, wherein the material is approximately 30% Metalycen.
4. The disposal bag of claim 1, wherein the material thickness is about 5 Mil.
5. The disposal bag of claim 1, wherein the material is embossed with a pattern.
6. The disposal bag of claim 5, wherein the pattern is a square pattern.
7. The disposal bag of claim 5, wherein the pattern is a circle pattern.
8. The disposal bag of claim 5, wherein the pattern is a triangle pattern.
9. The disposal bag of claim 5, wherein the pattern is a rectangle pattern.
10. The disposal bag of claim 5, wherein the pattern is a diamond pattern.
11. The disposal bag of claim 1, wherein the sealant patch near the opening is covered by a peel-away liner.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 1, 2006
Publication Date: Dec 21, 2006
Inventor: John Burnett (Tustin, CA)
Application Number: 11/444,625
International Classification: B65D 33/00 (20060101); B65D 65/26 (20060101);