Air Cycle Provides Fluorescent Lamp Disposal SystemFor More Than 500 Marriott Hotels

(Broadview, Ill.) June 6, 2008 -- Air Cycle Corporation, a firm that has pioneered unique pre-paid services, such as the EasyPak ™ Recycling Program and the Bulb Eater® for large firms that prefer crushing and recycling fluorescent lamps on site, announced that it has been chosen by more than 500 Marriott–branded hotels to provide an environmentally safe process for disposing of fluorescent lamps. 

“We believe that Air Cycle offers our hotels and easier and more eco-friendly option to dispose of fluorescent bulbs,” says Paul Hildreth, project director of engineering, Marriott International, Inc. “It’s a great solution for hotels in states where regulations are continuously evolving to meet environmental demands.”

Several Marriott hotels are equipped with the OSHA and EPA-compliant Bulb Eater®.  The device crushes over 1,000 fluorescent lamps (amount depends on size of lamps) and packs them into a 55-gallon drum. The process is fully enclosed and filtered, so that the glass, aluminum, and harmful mercury vapors are contained.  When full, the drums are picked up and transported to an EPA-approved lamp recycling facility – all arranged by Air Cycle. 

Additionally, Air Cycle Corporation offers Marriott services and report management methods which certify materials have been handled by approved recycling facilities.  The recycling reports can be easily audited and are available on a customized, dedicated web-page program that the Illinois-based firm created for Marriott to manage all aspects of its lamp, battery and ballast-recycling plan. This plan helps Marriott remain compliant in all 50 U.S. states where recycling standards and regulations vary.

For one fee, Beierwaltes’s EasyPak™ pre-paid recycling service includes: storage containers for bulbs, batteries and ballast, shipping to a recycling center, recycling fees, and a certificate of recycling, which is available via the website.   Storage boxes of various sizes can be placed in convenient areas where engineers and custodians can drop off spent fluorescent lamps.  Plastic buckets are strategically placed as well so that spent batteries and ballast can easily be collected.  When the containers become full, they are sealed then picked up by FedEx Ground and taken to a recycling facility.

Marriott has a goal to decrease its environmental footprint by one million tons from 2000-2010.  Last year, Marriott launched a number of initiatives to green its supply chain, seek LEED certification for hotels, and retrofit existing hotels. This year, Marriott International was awarded the Sustained Excellence Award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for excellence in energy management and has been named Partner of the Year since 2004.  For more environmentally-friendly hotels and programs, visit www.marriott.com/environment.  

The future may include enlisting Air Cycle to help with recycling of electronic hardware, such as computers and calculators. Marriott may also consider using the Illinois firm for its international operations, starting with Canada.  This, however, would mean resolving how to transport recyclables across international borders.

For more information about the Bulb Eater™ and other services, contact Air Cycle Corporation at (800) 909-9709.