Abstract:
A disposal bag for providing a safe and low-cost hazardous material contamination device is extremely durable and easily distributed with a greater resistance to puncture while containing hazardous material like mercury released from fluorescent light bulbs when the glass envelope is broken.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 60/686,505 filed Jun. 1, 2005 for a Disposal Bag. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     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.  
         [0004]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0005]     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.  
         [0006]     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).  
         [0007]     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  
       [0008]     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  
       [0009]     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:  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic illustration of the open end of a bag according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic illustration of a disposal bag for disposing fluorescent bulbs according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a diagrammatic illustration of a disposal bag for disposing fluorescent bulbs according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is a diagrammatic illustration of a disposal bag for disposing fluorescent bulbs according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.  
         [0014]      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.  
         [0015]      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.  
         [0016]      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.  
         [0017]      FIG. 8  is a diagrammatic illustration of various embossing configurations that are preferred for use with the current invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 9  is a diagrammatic illustration of a material used for the disposal bag of the present invention, having a diamond embossing pattern.  
         [0019]      FIG. 10  is a diagrammatic illustration of a material used for the disposal bag of the present invention, having a rectangular embossing pattern.  
         [0020]      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  
       [0021]     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.  
         [0022]     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.  
         [0023]     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 .  
         [0024]      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.  
         [0025]     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 .  
         [0026]      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.  
         [0027]     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 .  
         [0028]      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.  
         [0029]     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.  
         [0030]     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.