How To Dispose Of Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Why do cfl bulbs need special disposal.

How to dispose of fluorescent light bulbs. The mercury inside fluorescent tube lights is hazardous so extra care should be taken to ensure that this material doesn t leak. That can lead to short term health risk for exposed individuals and lasting environmental damage to soil and water. 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. The epa recommended method for the safe disposal of all types of fluorescent light bulbs is actually recycling.

Managing and recycling cfls. Cfl bulbs contain about 5 milligrams of mercury which can be toxic to the environment. It s a small trade off for the benefit of more efficient bulbs which last longer and require less coal or oil fired electricity. How to dispose of cfl and fluorescent light bulbs unlike incandescent bulbs cfl compact fluorescent light bulbs contain a small amount of mercury about 4 milligrams of the toxic metal.

Recycling involves depositing the bulbs at waste collection centers from where they go into industrial processing hubs that reuse the bulb to make something else. Cfl bulbs are considered hazardous waste in many areas and require a little more planning when it comes to disposal. Recycle fluorescent lamps no this does not mean that you can somehow reuse the bulb or get a new one in exchange or get few bucks selling it off.