What do I do with…?

Light Bulbs

What is light bulb waste? Broken, unused, or nonfunctioning light bulbs.

Why is light bulb waste a problem? Some light bulbs contain mercury that if improperly disposed of can cause toxic contamination. Because many light bulbs are single use, they cause a lot of unwanted waste.

Examples: compact fluorescent light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, circular fluorescent, u bend fluorescent, plastic coated and shatter shield, spot/flood lamps, uv and germicidal lamps, incandescent, halogen, cold cathode, metal halide, high pressure sodium, mercury vapor

Reduce

• Place lamps in areas where light is necessary

• Turn off lights when not in use.

• Reduce the amount of bulbs you need by using high efficiency LED bulbs.

• Take advantage of daylight when you need a bright light.

• Candles are a nice change in atmosphere.

Reuse

• Be creative - make crafts from incandescent lightbulb shells

• Home ReSource accepts all kinds of working light bulbs excluding fluorescents; Consult their Donations Acceptance Policy before donating

Recycle

• Recycle your compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) at these locations:

  • Lowe’s

  • Home Depot

• P.E.T.E.S. Electric takes (for a fee):

  • fluorescent straight/ linear

  • U-tubes

  • hid

  • metal halide

  • mercury vapor

  • sodium vapor

  • compact fluorescent

  • UVA bulbs

  • tanning bed lamps

• Batteries Plus Bulbs takes (fees may apply):

  • compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs

  • fluorescent tubes

  • circular fluorescent

  • u bend fluorescent

  • plastic coated and shatter shield

  • spot/flood lamps

  • UV and germicidal lamps

  • incandescent

  • halogen

  • cold cathode

  • metal halide

  • high pressure sodium

  • mercury vapor

  • ballasts