Recolight creates ‘hierarchy’ graphic to aid decision making with lighting
Recolight has created a ‘hierarchy of lighting’ visual tool which it believes can help lighting professionals make informed decisions about the sustainable installation and replacement of luminaires.
The inverted-triangle graphic, unveiled by the organisation’s CEO Nigel Harvey at its flagship Circular Lighting Live 2024 in London last week, is based on the famous ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ mantra of the environmental movement.
‘Even though Recolight was set up by the industry to recycle waste lamps and luminaires, we believe recycling should be a last resort,’ Harvey told the audience at the Royal College of Physicians in London. ‘That’s why it’s smallest and at the bottom of the pyramid.’
The first choice, according to the hierarchy, is to retain or reconfigure the existing lighting installation in a building. If the lighting is energy efficient and achieving the occupants’ aims, it should be retained if possible.
The next option, in the ‘reuse’ section, is to repair or remanufacture the existing lights by, for instance, upgrading the fluorescent lamps for LED modules.
If this can’t happen for whatever reason, the existing lights should be rehomed, possibly on an exchange website such as Recolight Reuse Hub. Harvey revealed that there are already 16,000 fittings on the platform ‘available for free’.
The lights should be replaced with remanufactured lights from another source.
If this is not possible, the removed lights should be replaced with luminaires with good environmental metrics such as TM66, TM65 or an EPD.
The next, and deliberately last, option is to replace the lights and recycle the existing lights.
Landfill is the bottom of the pyramid, and features a ‘no go’ icon.
Circular Lighting Live 2024 focused on the reuse, reconditioning and remanufacture of lights.
• Circular Lighting Live 2025 takes place on Thursday 2 October 2025 at the Minster Court Conference Centre in the City of London. Learn more at www.circularlighting.live
