Signify has launched Europe’s first LED tube made with recycled plastic.
Some 40 per cent of the plastic in the Philips Master LEDtube T8 EM/mains is made of post-consumer-recycled plastic. The company says it is aiming to upgrade the whole Master T8 EM/mains range to the recycled plastic.
The Philips Master LEDtube T8 uses post-consumer waste from sources including fishing nets, water jugs and car headlights. In practical terms, an installation of 1,000 LED tubes uses the amount of recycled plastic equivalent to the weight of 2,500 half-litre PET bottles.2
With a luminous efficacy of up to 185 lm/W, the MASTER LEDtube T8 has a B-class energy efficiency label. Its lifespan of 75,000 hours reduces the frequency of replacement, but when that time comes, this can be done without changing existing luminaire fixtures, which avoids further waste. At the end of its life, the tube can be dismantled and re-enter the recycling process.
‘At Signify, we put circularity at the heart of our product development, with the ambition to decouple growth from resource consumption’, Harshavardhan Chitale, CEO of the Professional Business, told the Circular Lighting Report.
‘In addition to pushing the limits on energy efficiency and creating efficient products that last longer, we’re committed to using fewer materials – delivering improvements in efficiency, usability and reducing the total cost of ownership over time.
‘Upgrading to the Master LEDtube T8 is both a good economic and an environmentally responsible choice. In addition to giving new life to old fishing nets, water jugs and car headlights – it delivers excellent lighting performance and energy efficiency.’
Signify says that users can expect a full return on investment in less than five months and yearly savings of over £50,000 when upgrading 1,000 units of 58W fluorescent tubes to the new Master LEDtube T8. Compared to a fluorescent tube, the Master LEDtube T8 can reduce CO2 emissions by 1,170 kg over its lifetime. The annual energy savings would be enough to charge 124 smartphones for a year.
• Learn more about sustainable lighting at Circular Lighting Live 2025, Recolight’s flagship conference and exhibition, which takes place on Thursday 25 September 2025 at the Minster Building in the City of London. Free to specifiers, Circular Lighting Live 2025 will feature leading experts, specifiers and policy makers who will share their insights into forthcoming standards and legislation, emerging technologies and new business models. More info: www.circularlighting.live
