Pretty new too... 2017. That "7" in the vertical line of digits on the far right end of the etch is the last digit of the year of manufacturer. The "H" would be the month I believe (August if it's the same as the Philips system). Finding out the actual year (because "7" could potentially mean 2017, 2007, 1997, etc) requires knowing when different etch styles were use. Before 2016 or so, the trash can marking didn't appear on the etch, nor did "CONTAINS MERCURY". So any lamp you see with that on it is only a couple years old. The "HG" logo has been on the tubes (and all mercury containing lamps) for over a decade though. Apparently the symbol isn't obvious enough so they have to literally spell it out for people. I don't know anyone that actually recycles dead tubes anyway. Everyone I know including myself just throws them away. Too much of a hassle for something that contains such a minute trace of mercury. Not to mention it costs money in a lot of cases. Big box stores offer free drop off for CFLs but they generally won't accept linear tubes. I've dropped them off a few times and was finally asked to not bring anymore. So I just toss them in the trash like 99% of people do.
Yeah it is interesting how they use alphanumeric codes and don't just use the short forms for each month. I thought the 7 would have been 2007 and the 4 and 8 are Month/Day. I think most light manufacturers do the same thing with the alphanumeric system.
I find it funny too that they had to add that it contains mercury, guess HG for mercury wasn't good enough
Anyone thats done chemistry 101 should know that HG is the mercury chemical element lol. Some people are shocked when you tell them they contain traces of Mercury.
Yeah over here some places get upset when you throw them in the dumpsters (even though they usually end up shattering in the bins) but everyone seems to do it anyways because they don't have to pay. The only places I know of that take the Florescent tube lights for free are Goodwill recycling centers, and IKEA front foyers. I think IKEA has some limitations on what you bulbs you can bring there though. Ive seen many shopping centers that keep the tubes all in one huge blue bin in a loading bay, and someone comes around to collect and scrap them all. We have those recycing fees for most electronics though, if you were to buy a brand new TV theres a fee at purchase + when you decide to scrap it there is another fee!
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I find it funny too that they had to add that it contains mercury, guess HG for mercury wasn't good enough
Anyone thats done chemistry 101 should know that HG is the mercury chemical element lol. Some people are shocked when you tell them they contain traces of Mercury.
Yeah over here some places get upset when you throw them in the dumpsters (even though they usually end up shattering in the bins) but everyone seems to do it anyways because they don't have to pay. The only places I know of that take the Florescent tube lights for free are Goodwill recycling centers, and IKEA front foyers. I think IKEA has some limitations on what you bulbs you can bring there though. Ive seen many shopping centers that keep the tubes all in one huge blue bin in a loading bay, and someone comes around to collect and scrap them all. We have those recycing fees for most electronics though, if you were to buy a brand new TV theres a fee at purchase + when you decide to scrap it there is another fee!