How To Dispose Of Fluorescent Light Bulbs Wisconsin

They should not be disposed of in your curbside trash.

How to dispose of fluorescent light bulbs wisconsin. When fluorescent lights are landfilled they pose a threat to releasing mercury into the surrounding environment. Wisconsin has no legal requirements for disposing of bulbs that come strictly from households. We provide recycling and disposal for fluorescent lamps bulbs cfl and batteries from all the regions throughout the state. Luckily under the environmental protection agency s epa universal waste rule many mercury containing light bulbs can be treated as non hazardous waste if properly recycled.

Household waste is not regulated as a hazardous waste identified in ch. These bulbs are most commonly used for industrial lighting and in commercial buildings. Use a ladder when removing the bulb to minimize the chance of you dropping it. Code pdf exit dnr.

There s no recycling market for broken fluorescent lamps. Your area may prohibit disposal and or require recycling. Recycling cfls and other fluorescent bulbs allows reuse of the glass metals and other materials that make up fluorescent lights. Wisconsin s hazardous waste regulations already prohibit businesses and institutions from disposing waste fluorescent light bulbs in solid waste landfills.

Turn off power to the light fixture and remove the tube. Virtually all components of a fluorescent bulb can be recycled. You ll then need to remove the light cover and unscrew the tube. Workers sort through material placed into your recycling cart by hand at the recycling facility.

Never place old fluorescent bulbs tubes or cfls in the recycling cart at your home or business. Rotate the bulb clockwise to loosen it then pull 1 end away from the fixture to pop it out. If the tube breaks here s what to do. Placing these bulbs and tubes into the recycling could expose those workers to hazardous mercury when the bulbs break.

However the dnr encourages households to recycle bulbs when possible. At bulbcycle light bulb recycling and disposal we work with government private companies hospitals banks retail stores schools and colleges throughout all of the state of wisconsin. Pull the other end out of the fixture as well to finish removing the tube. The epa recommended method for the safe disposal of all types of fluorescent light bulbs is actually recycling.

Fluorescent tubes can last up to 15 000 hours making them a common choice for business classrooms etc.