You should see that light bulbs are recyclable before dispose of your unwanted light bulb in the garbage. Throwing away old light bulbs is not ideal; meanwhile, glass can break down & tear the trash container, and a broken light bulb may release gases, such as argon, helium, and nitrogen.
If you are continuously tossing your old light bulbs in the rubbish, you might be making a blunder. There can be a reprocessing drop-off fact right in your area, but more fundamentally, some light bulbs should be reused for the good of the planet.
- Some light bulbs have risky materials that can pollute water and the earth.
- Your curbside recycling facility might get light bulbs; however, do your study to find out the right site to recycle light bulbs.
- Some countries and local jurisdictions implement laws that order light bulb disposal.
This article will help you dispose of light bulbs correctly and recycle them when you can.
Table of Contents
How to dispose of light bulbs correctly
- Turn off the light switch to look after electrical shocks while eliminating an unwanted light bulb.
- Use a glove to defend against heat and burn-out glass if your light bulb should halt.
- When the light bulb breaks, ensure everybody leaves the room, and switch off the AC. Go for wet wipes, adhesive tape, or wet paper towels to assemble all the broken pieces.
- Keep your light bulb and any parts in a sealed airtight basket that cannot be cut by any damaged pieces.
- Right disposal based upon the light bulb type you have. Such as halogen.
Different types of recyclable light bulbs
For recycling, most of the light bulbs come into these categories:
1- Halogen light bulbs, as well as incandescent light bulbs
They do not have any risky materials; thus, it is suitable to throw them directly into the rubbish. They are biodegradable, but due to the specialized techniques needed to separate the ingredients, they are not considered at all reprocessing centers.
2- Compact fluorescent bulbs
These bulbs have trace quantities of mercury, which is an unsafe material. However, you can use them in your house, but after ending up in the landfill, they can pollute soil and aquatic life. There are several places to recycle fluorescent bulbs; however, you need to confirm that these bulbs are accepted before carrying them to the recycling center.
3-LED bulbs
LED bulbs are safe and made to last for several years; however, they can still be deliberated useless because of the damage, fault, or old age. They are accepted via some recycling centers, containing some that focus on recycling customer electronics.
Why recycling light bulbs is important?
1- Sending mercury to landfills is harmful
When light bulbs having mercury, such as CFLs, are disposed of into the trash, they will go to landfill. When they are in the landfills, the mercury can leak into the groundwater and generate dirtied leachate, which is harmful to our health.
When you reprocess these CFLs, the mercury can be correctly regulated to confirm it will not harm our health. Fluorescent bulbs also have phosphore, which can be toxic and should be stored appropriately for the same reason.
2- Decreasing landfill trash is good for the environment
Landfills can contaminate the soil in the region around them and seep chemicals into the drinking water, which can cause the death of marine life. Whereas several landfills are actively and responsibly regulated nowadays, they can still contain severe effects on human health and the atmosphere, and decreasing the leftover you give to them is a definite objective.
3- Landfill space is ending
The waste production of the world is increasing day by day, and the majority of it still adds to landfills. It means that we are running lower on the planet, & any space that you will save in the landfills is a good thing.
4- The light bulbs containing raw materials can be recycled
The raw materials present in light bulbs can be recycled, allowing us to recover energy that was utilized to design them. For example, aluminium needs around 96% less energy for manufacturing from recycled cans rather than it requires to develop by using raw materials.
Recycling only a single glass bottle can preserve sufficient energy to the 100-watt bulb for 4-5 hours. In addition to that, recycling your light bulbs provides their pieces with a new life, as compared to increasing landfill that will last for almost 1,000 years.
How to recycle light bulbs?
How are CFLs recycled?
For a lot of years, CFLs were advertised as the best option for biodegradable users, as they are more energy resourceful as compared to regular light bulbs. However, there is a significant issue with these bulbs: they have mercury, which is terrible for the planet and our well-being.
Exposure to mercury can create developmental issues in unborn kids. In grownups, mercury causes side effects, including muscle weakness, vision deficiency, lack of synchronization, and even death. Additionally, several individuals do not like these light bulbs as they find the unflattering color of light, and these bulbs have an unusual shape.
Disposing of these light bulbs for any reason, ensure you take them to a recycling service. Seven states, containing Maine as well as California, need this by law. In some states where this is not compulsory, it is the accurate thing to do.
Several large stores, such as IKEA, TrueValue, and Home Depot, accept fluorescent bulbs in certain societies for recycling. 1800Recycling’s Recycle Search device can help you find particular places in your municipal that take these bulbs.
If you are unable to identify anyplace to recycle fluorescent bulbs, you can email them to the recycling service. Environmental Protection Agency of the US offers a list of businesses that accept these bulbs by mailing. Fluorescent light tubes found in several office buildings also have mercury. They should be recycled too in the same way as CFL bulbs.
These bulbs should be reprocessed even if they breakdown. Confirm you handle crackdown very cautiously; therefore, the mercury does not harm you. The EPA contains a handy guide for correct clean-up and dumping of broken CFLs.
Why compact fluorescence light bulbs are good for our environment
Even though CFL bulbs have mercury, they decrease complete mercury contamination. How? As they need less energy to make, ending in less coal red-hot at power plants, causing fewer mercury releases. It means that when you pick these bulbs, there is genuinely less mercury discharged into our air and rivers.
How are LED light bulbs recycled?
Nowadays, these light bulbs of selection look to be light-emitting diode bulbs. These bulbs are energy proficient and last longer as compared to CFLs. However, like fluorescent bulbs, they are not for everybody. As they emit directional light, LEDs do not perform well in some uses similar to table lamps.
Some individuals object to their illumination, and they can be pretty costly. While LEDs do not have mercury, several do have other dangerous substances like lead as well as arsenic. Regardless of this, most societies do not need you to recycle these bulbs.
If you are willing to recover LED light bulbs and make sure those hazardous materials do not go into the waste stream. There are no leading national LED recycling curriculums, but some societies provide them to local citizens.
1800Recycling’s Recycle Search device can help you identify a local LED recycling business. You can also request your waste management quarter and get if they have any thoughts. The easiest category of LED lights to re-use is Christmas lights. Several places will accept without any cost by the mail. Look into businesses like HolidayLEDs.com as well as Environmental LED.
How are halogen light bulbs recycled?
These bulbs are generally used as outdoor flood lights; they are more innovative as compared to regular incandescent bulbs. However, they are more resourceful, and only high temperature can burn them. These bulbs typically do not have harmful resources and can be recycled safely.
How are incandescent light bulbs recycled?
No programs are available for recycling incandescent light bulbs; thus, you will have to put them in the garbage. You might ponder packaging the light bulb, so any damaged glass cannot hole through the basket and injure health workers.
Do not put these faulty bulbs in your glass recycling basket. The glass inside the bulb contains a different melting temperature as compared to the glass within the jars or flasks. A solo light bulb can damage an entire batch of ideally biodegradable glass.
What happens when light bulbs are recycled?
When you take the light bulbs for recycling, they are sent to a legal workstation for recycling. Using extraordinary respirators and other PPEs, employees categorize lights by type as well as stage them for automatic and manual processing.
All regular fluorescent bulbs and other lights are placed through an appliance, known as a tumbler, from where they are battered, and the components are detached. The mercury, glass phosphor, & metal is detached to facilitate recycling.
Where can you recycle light bulbs?
1- Curbside recycling
When your municipality provides you with the curbside recycling facility, you must start your examination on the facility’s website. There must be an inclusive list of what ingredients are considered, and many facilities will list substances that are especially not accepted.
Do not assume your curbside recycler to accept fluorescent bulbs, because curbside recycling is a tumble occupation and CFLs discharge mercury when they break. However, your recycler accepts other kinds of bulbs.
2- Recycling centers & stores
If you are unable to recycle your light bulbs, the following step is to seek out a recycling store near you that has a website, such as Recycle Nation. You can explore depending upon light bulbs you have, and you can also identify some processors near you that accept all materials.
A searchable recycling retailer is an excellent approach to get chain centers that give light bulb recycling containers, particularly for CFLs.
3- Recycling by mail
If you do not find any suitable way of recycling light bulbs, there is still another approach, but it is costly. Businesses such as EZ & Lampmaster Recycling provide a light bulb recycling facility by mail. It means you can order a durable recycling box online, after that, fill it with your unwanted light bulbs then send it back.
Recycling by mail can be costly, but living in a remote place can be the ideal choice for recycling old light bulbs.
Benefits of recycling light bulbs
Why would someone experience the extra anxiety to dispose of unwanted light bulbs rather than throwing in regular garbage? Fine, there are several advantages to you, your family, and your friends to throw them away properly.
1- Environmental Protection
The light bulbs have toxic constituents and chemicals in small amounts, for example, mercury, which can cause health issues and environmental pollution if released. So, it is not suitable to throw away your old light bulbs in landfills.
2- Constituents are recyclable
The glass, tungsten, mercury, and copper inside the light bulbs are biodegradable. Reusing these ingredients makes it inexpensive to produce new light bulbs, which is better for our environment.
3- Free of cost recycling
Most societies contain a free recycling platform for home waste like old light bulbs. Such as, stores like Walmart provide recycling for uninterrupted light bulbs, plus most of the fire departments provide free recycling for risky domestic waste.
4- Obedience with the law
The Environment Protection Agency categorizes typical fluorescent bulbs as worldwide unsafe waste. It contains set principles for disposal, conveyance, and storage of unwanted bulbs, which differs from the government to government. Overlooking disposal principles can end up in drawbacks, particularly for small industry.
5- Increased personal protection
If you are not familiar with how to throw away CFLs correctly, and other detrimental light bulbs, at that moment, you can put yourself, family, and friends at risk. These hazards may contain experiencing mercury, and attaining rips and tetanus. Proper recycling, as well as dumping, is crucial to make sure your health.
What happens when you cannot recycle light bulbs?
If your municipality or local environmental controlling organization allows you to put broken or old fluorescent bulbs in the common household waste, cover the bulb by using a plastic container and throw it into the garbage for the next standard garbage collection.
