Nigel Harvey, CEO of Recolight named Lux Person of the Year 2012 at the annual Lux Awards.

Nigel Harvey, CEO of Recolight, the UK’s WEEE compliance scheme for the lighting industry, was named Lux Person of the Year 2012 at last night’s Lux Awards.

The glittering award ceremony took place at the Natural History Museum with 16 awards up for grabs. The Lux Person of the Year award was a special award decided by a panel of lighting industry experts, and the judges nominated Nigel Harvey in recognition of his role in the “enormous success of Recolight”.

Since its inception in 2007, the not-for-profit organisation has funded the recycling of over 125 million lamps, which has prevented a third of a tonne of mercury from entering landfill.

In 2011, lamps accounted for just two per cent of the tonnage of business electrical equipment placed on the market in the UK, but accounted for over 22 per cent of the business WEEE collected, according to Environment Agency figures. Much of the success is attributable to Recolight’s commitment to both the spirit and letter of the WEEE legislation.

Lux Awards is the highlight of the annual Lux Live exhibition currently taking place at Earls Court. Organised by the Lighting Industry Association and Lux magazine, Lux Live brings together major lighting users including retailers, developers, manufacturers, transport and infrastructure providers and public sector with lighting professionals including designers, architects, consulting engineers, contractors and distributors.

Nigel Harvey said: “I am absolutely delighted to have been given this award which I dedicate to the team at Recolight, our members, collection points and partners, all of whom work tirelessly to keep this hazardous waste stream out of landfill. It is a great accolade for the lighting industry as a whole that we are leading the way when it comes to the management of business waste electrical and electronic equipment. We are completely committed to building on this success for the future.”