BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. 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 INVENTION
The 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 DRAWINGS
The 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:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of the open end of a bag according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of a disposal bag for disposing fluorescent bulbs according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of a disposal bag for disposing fluorescent bulbs according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of a disposal bag for disposing fluorescent bulbs according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration of a disposal bag according to a preferred embodiment of the invention for disposal of different shaped fluorescent bulbs.
FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic illustration of a disposal bag according to a preferred embodiment of the invention for disposal of different shaped fluorescent bulbs.
FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic illustration of a disposal bag according to a preferred embodiment of the invention for disposal of different shaped fluorescent bulbs.
FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic illustration of various embossing configurations that are preferred for use with the current invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic illustration of a material used for the disposal bag of the present invention, having a diamond embossing pattern.
FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic illustration of a material used for the disposal bag of the present invention, having a rectangular embossing pattern.
FIG. 11 is an illustration of a preferred embodiment of the invention showing disposal bags according to the present invention being arranged in a continuous web for storage in a roll.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
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 FIG. 1 is illustrated as having a convenient shape which may be a flat envelope or tubular, for example. The material 13 used for the bag, preferably comprises 70% low density Polyethylene and about 30% Metalycen at approximately a 5 Mil. thickness. The bag has one open end 15 with a contact adhesive strip 23 with a peel away liner 21 thereon attached to the bag, some distance from the open end 15 of the bag.
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.
FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 illustrate the sequence by which a fluorescent bulb 25, for example, is inserted into bag 13 and sealed therein, so that any mercury that does escape the glass envelope of fluorescent bulb 25 will be contained within the bag.
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the preferred shape of the disposal bag 13 for fluorescent bulbs 25 is an elongated envelope having a closed end 31 and an open end 15. After the fluorescent bulb 25 is inserted into the bag 13 through the open end 15, the flap is folded once at first fold line 17 in the direction of arrow 27, and then again a second time at second fold line 19, in the direction of arrow 28 to come in contact with and be sealed by contact adhesive strip 21 which is attached to the side of the bag 13. The fluorescent bulb 25, as shown in FIG. 4, is securely contained in the bags by the double fold closure. Moreover, in case of breakage, the glass shards and the escaped mercury will be contained in the disposal bag envelope 13, by the sealed top, as illustrated in FIGS. 1-4.
FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 illustrate an envelope shaped bag 33 that is sized to contain a light bulb type of fluorescent bulb 35. The bag has more of a square shape. The open end 37 of the disposal bag has a flap 39 with a contact adhesive strip 41 thereon. The adhesive strip 41 has a peel away liner that exposes the adhesive strip 45 before the flap 39 is folded over, in the direction of arrow 43, to close the container 33 after the fluorescent bulb has been inserted into the bag.
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 FIG. 8 as square 51, circle 53, triangle 55, rectangle 57, and diamond 59.
FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate two preferred embossing patterns for material utilized for the disposal bag of the present invention. FIG. 9 illustrates a material 61 having a diamond shape 59 embossing pattern. FIG. 10 illustrates material 61 having a square shape 51 embossing pattern.
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 FIG. 11, conveniently stored in roll form. The web has perforations 63 at predetermined lengths, to separate the web material into the individual disposable bags.
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 FIG. 11, they may be packaged folded or flat as well.
Patent Application
20060285783
