How To Dispose Of Fluorescent Light Bulb Tubes

Other materials in the bulbs get reused.

How to dispose of fluorescent light bulb tubes. How to recycle fluorescent bulbs and tubes. Recycling cfls and other fluorescent bulbs allows reuse of the glass metals and other materials that make up fluorescent lights. Check earth911 for your area and call ahead to be sure or take your used fluorescent tube bulbs to your nearest household hazardous waste site. Text keep fluorescent lamps out of the trash.

The mercury inside fluorescent tube lights is hazardous so extra care should be taken to ensure that this material doesn t leak. These bulbs are most commonly used for industrial lighting and in commercial buildings. This includes fluorescent tubes compact fluorescent lamps metal halide lamps and sodium vapor lams. Fluorescent tubes serve as an energy efficient alternative to incandescent light bulbs but they contain low levels of toxic mercury which can be released into the air or water if the tubes are broken.

Have any fluorescent bulbs either the long tubes or squiggly compact ones. If you only have a few fluorescent light bulbs needing recycling you may be able to take advantage of your local county s household hazardous waste hhw drop off site. While compact fluorescent lightbulbs cfls have extensive recycling options through retail drop offs and mail in programs the same can t be said for fluorescent tubes. How to recycle fluorescent tubes.

Luckily these tubes will last up to 15 000 hours so you won t need to worry about recycling them often. Virtually all components of a fluorescent bulb can be recycled. These days most consumers are switching to newer led bulbs which burn cooler and last longer. That can lead to short term health risk for exposed individuals and lasting environmental damage to soil and water.

Fluorescent tubes can last up to 15 000 hours making them a common choice for business classrooms etc. In some areas it s actually illegal to dispose of fluorescent tubes in the trash so be sure to follow the proper steps in recycling your fluorescent tubes to avoid breaking the law or damaging people s health. Easily identifiable by their narrow glass tubes twisted into curlicue shapes compact fluorescent bulbs cfls fit into standard light fixtures and last 8 000 to 20 000 hours. Contact your local household hazardous waste agency.

10 x 14 5 inches fluorescent lamp and tube poster. Fluorescent tube bulbs can generally be recycled at the same sites that take used cfl bulbs but some retailers may not accept larger ones.