South Africa bans many light bulbs, batteries, and electric switches
Environmental affairs minister Dion George has published new regulations for the management of mercury in South Africa, which will ban certain types of batteries, switches, fluorescent lamps, and other equipment from April 2025.
The regulations restrict the manufacture, import, and export of specific mercury-added products over a three-year period. Some products will be banned from 1 April 2025, while others must be phased out by April 2027.
Minister Barbara Creecy first issued the regulations in draft form for public comment in July 2022. The final regulations were gazetted on 6 February 2025.
While regulations published by former trade and industry minister Ebrahim Patel in 2023 already prohibit the sale of incandescent and fluorescent lamps for general lighting, those are based on energy efficiency.
The new regulations issued by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment tackle several classes of products based on their mercury content.
Anyone who contravenes the mercury management regulations can face fines and prison time, depending on the nature of the infringement.
Less severe violations face a maximum fine of R500,000.
First-time offenders of more severe infringements can be fined R5 million and sentenced to up to 5 years in prison. Subsequent convictions attract fines of up to R10 million and 10 years in jail.
Among the products targeted by the new regulations are batteries, with exceptions for zinc-based button batteries with less than 2% mercury content.
It also bans switches and relays containing mercury, except for certain high-accuracy capacitance and loss measurement bridges and high-frequency switches.
The regulations also include stipulations for various types of fluorescent lamps, including compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).
Certain cosmetics, pesticides, biocides, and topical antiseptics containing mercury are also banned from 1 April 2025, as well as certain non-electronic measuring devices where no mercury-free alternative is available.
These include barometers, hygrometers, manometers, thermometers, and sphygmomanometer (blood pressure monitors).
The table below, reproduced from the gazetted regulations, summarises the affected mercury-added products and the date after which their manufacture, import, and export are not allowed in South Africa.
| Mercury-added product | Phase-out date |
|---|---|
| Batteries, except for button zinc silver oxide batteries with a mercury content < 2% and button zinc-air batteries with a mercury content < 2% | 1 April 2025 |
| Switches and relays, except very high accuracy capacitance and loss measurement bridges and high frequency radio frequency switches and relays in monitoring and control instruments with a maximum mercury content of 20 mg per bridge, switch or relay | 1 April 2025 |
| CFLs for general lighting purposes that are ≤ 30 watts with a mercury content exceeding 5 mg per lamp burner | 1 April 2026 |
| CFLs with an integrated ballast (CFL.i) for general lighting purposes that are ≤ 30 watts with a mercury content not exceeding 5 mg per lamp burner | 1 April 2026 |
| Linear fluorescent lamps (LFLs) for general lighting purposes: (a) Triband phosphor < 60 watts with a mercury content exceeding 5 mg per lamp | 1 April 2027 |
| (b) Halophosphate phosphor ≤ 40 watts with a mercury content exceeding 10 mg per lamp | 1 April 2026 |
| High-pressure mercury vapour lamps (HPMV) for general lighting purposes | 1 April 2025 |
| Mercury in cold cathode fluorescent lamps and external electrode fluorescent lamps (CCFL and EEFL) for electronic displays: (a) short length (≤ 500 mm) with mercury content exceeding 3.5 mg per lamp. (b) medium length (> 500 mm and ≤ 1,500 mm) with mercury content exceeding 5 mg per lamp (c) long length (> 1,500 mm) with mercury content exceeding 13 mg per lamp. | 1 April 2025 |
| CCFL and EEFL of all lengths for electronic displays, not included in the listing directly above. | 1 April 2025 |
| Cosmetics (with mercury content above 1ppm), including skin lightening soaps and creams, and not including eye area cosmetics where mercury is used as a preservative and no effective and safe substitute preservatives are available. | 1 April 2025 |
| Pesticides, biocides and topical antiseptics. | 1 April 2025 |
| The following non-electronic measuring devices except non-electronic measuring devices installed in large-scale equipment or those used for high precision measurement, where no suitable mercury-free alternative is available: (a) barometers; (b) hygrometers; (c) manometers; (d) thermometers; (e) sphygmomanometers. | 1 April 2025 |
| Strain gauges to be used in plethysmographs | 1 April 2025 |
| The following electrical and electronic measuring devices, except those installed in large-scale equipment or those used for high-precision measurement, where no suitable mercury-free alternative is available: (a) Melt pressure transducers; (b) melt pressure transmitters; and (c) melt pressure sensors. | 1 April 2025 |
| Mercury vacuum pumps | 1 April 2025 |
| Tyre balancers and wheel weight | 1 April 2025 |
| Photographic film and paper | 1 April 2025 |
| Propellant for satellites and spacecraft | 1 April 2025 |
In addition to the above, the regulations set out measures to phase out the use of dental amalgam — including discouraging insurance policies from favouring dental amalgam over mercury-free dental restoration.
The South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) previously told MyBroadband that the mercury content of CFL light bulbs was more concerning than their energy efficiency.
Ashanti Mbanga, project manager for SANEDI’s appliance standards and labelling programme, said exposure to high amounts of mercury can lead to long-term and sometimes permanent neurological and behavioural disorders.
“Mercury is extremely harmful to the environment, and in turn harms the health of people living in those environments,” stated Mbanga.
In light of these concerns, the UN Environment Programme created the Minamata Convention on Mercury in 2013.
In 2021, Mbanga pointed out that the Clean Lighting Coalition was set to submit votes at COP 4 of the Minamata Convention.
These would amend the exemption of lighting products containing mercury, now that alternatives without mercury exist.
Shortly after that meeting, former environment minister Barbara Creecy, who now serves as transport minister, published the mercury management regulations for public comment.
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