Reducing the amount of waste generated and increasing recycling are the two main continuous targets in waste management within GE Consumer Products Lighting Europe.

At the manufacturing sites of Vác, Nagykanizsa and Enfield a recycling system called MRT, separates the shrinkage in linear and compact fluorescent production including glass, phosphor and metal parts. As a result, the shrinkage, classified as hazardous waste according to legal regulations, can be separated and reused in light-source manufacturing, or recycled in some other ways. Consequently, the hazardous waste generation has been reduced by 80% at these sites.

The systems were introduced in 1996, thus the following diagrams demonstrate the improvements gained with the MRT system.

Figure: Change in the amount of hazardous waste generation as a result of
the MRT system in Vác