Do you do light bulbs trash or recycle?

Recycling is an integral part of living a sustainable lifestyle and preserving resources. One way to do this is to recycle light bulbs. This can be done relatively quickly with many different options locally.

By researching your local regulations and finding a recycling center near, you can dispose of your waste appropriately.

Led Light Bulb Disposal Near Me

Light bulbs are electronic devices widely used in homes, businesses, and other organizations.

According to some research, an average American home has between fifty and a hundred light bulb sockets. This entails that a lot of lighting systems are used in a year.

While this is true, your light bulb may stop working at some point in time. It may be due to damage, or it has clogged its lifespan. What you do with dead light bulbs is what matters a lot.

These items are said to contain harmful substances. Therefore, they’ll need to be disposed of or recycled appropriately.

Do you have an idea about light bulb recycling? If you don’t, this article will give you a guide on that. We’ll discuss the possibility of reclaiming these items and the kinds of lighting systems you can recycle.

Moreover, you’ll learn about the facilities you can recycle light bulbs, safety tips, and more. Let’s not waste time here.

  • Possibility of Recycling Old Light Bulbs

It’s possible to recycle old or damaged light bulbs. They comprise reclaimable materials such as plastic, metal, glass, and mercury.

All these materials, as mentioned earlier, can be reprocessed into new products. For instance, they can be used to manufacture new light bulbs, countertops, etc.

Types of Light Bulbs You Can Recycle

There’re different types of light bulbs available across the globe. We have incandescent, CFL, halogen, fluorescent, and LED light bulbs. All these lighting systems can be fully recycled.

However, they’re best reprocessed in a standard facility. As highlighted above, these articles contain hazardous substances such as mercury, argon, etc.

If these items aren’t handled carefully, they can leach harmful chemicals into the soil and underground water. Some curbside recycling programs don’t accept light bulbs for recycling or proper disposal.

Facilities You Can Recycle Your Damaged Light Bulbs

Having known the types of light bulbs you can recycle, it’s essential you know locations for recycling.

Now, you can reclaim these devices in several places. You can start with your local municipality. Most of them have special recycling programs for light bulbs.

Another place you can reclaim your old light bulbs is at household or hardware stores. These include Depot, Lowe’s, Ikea, and more.

These installations accept selected light bulbs for proper recycling. You can also visit drop-off locations, glass recycling centers, hazardous waste collection facilities, and more.

They offer special services for reclaiming these items.

But before you do that, you’ll need to call the head and make more inquiries. First, find out if your kind of light bulb will be accepted for recycling.

Next, you ask if there’re specific guidelines regarding recycling these items. Having made all the necessary findings, you can take the next step.

Procedure for Recycling Old Light Bulbs

Recycling unwanted light bulbs is pretty simple yet very delicate. How you’ll go about recycling differs according to their types.

For instance, they place burned CFL bulbs into a plastic zip-lock bag to reclaim them. The idea is to prevent mercury from leaking. Once you’ve done that, you contact the nearest recycling facility.

As for LED bulbs, they don’t contain any hazardous substances. As such, you can recycle them in any regular trash. To reclaim this type of light bulb, place it into a shredder.

This will break it down into pieces. After that, the glass and metallic components will then be processed through separators or magnetic sorters.

Halogen light bulbs have higher luminosity than incandescent bulbs in the same watt range. To reclaim such bulbs, advanced equipment and expertise will be required.

For this reason, many municipalities recommend placing halogen bulbs in regular household trash instead of recycling them.

  • Mail-Back Recycling Services for Light Bulbs

Fortunately, you can reclaim your old light bulbs through mail-back services. Some manufacturers and other organizations sell pre-labeled reclaiming kits.

You can use them to mail used or damaged bulbs to reclaiming centers. You don’t have to worry about shipping costs. Each of those kits has shipping charges included.

All you got to do is fill each kit with old lighting systems, seal it, and bring it to the nearest post office. You can also leave it for the postal carrier.

Some mail-back services you can take advantage of include Lampmaster, BakPak Mail-Back Recycling, and Heritage Lifecycle Mailback.

Simple Cycle, Easy Pak, Waste Secure, Think Green From Home, and Recycle Pak are other mail-back programs you can explore.

  • Can I Dump Damaged Light Bulbs in Regular Trash?

The answer is no! It’s unacceptable to put light bulbs in regular trash cans.

Remember, they contain hazardous materials that can threaten the life of humans and the environment. Additionally, these items can’t be recycled together with bottles and jars.

You’re to dispose of your burned lighting systems with other waste. Alternatively, you can reclaim them via specialized recycling programs.

  • Perks of Recycling Scrap Light Bulbs

No doubt, reclaiming burned or old bulbs comes with a few perks.

First off, it keeps harmful chemicals out of the environment. As mentioned earlier, these items are made of hazardous substances. Recycling them is a viable way to keep these items from landfills.

Furthermore, reclaiming lightbulbs reduces the need to mine virgin resources. You can also save money by reducing disposal costs or lowering equipment costs.

Finally, you’ll be helping local businesses thrive by recycling these items. They’re much more perks of recycling burned or old light bulbs. Because of time constrain, we might not look deeply into the matter.

  • Challenges of Recycling Old Light Bulbs

Reclaiming light systems can be a tricky process.

Therefore, you must be aware of the associated challenges before attempting. First, many light bulbs contain toxic chemicals that require proper handling to prevent pollution.

Secondly, these items are typically made of metals and alloys. As such, they must be separated into parts before recycling.

Safety Tips When Recycling Light Bulbs

When reclaiming light bulbs, your safety and the environment matter a lot. The following safety tips will ensure you recycle your waste safely and responsibly.

Firstly, light bulbs shouldn’t be placed on glass banks. Secondly, energy-efficient bulbs should be recycled in a local reprocessing facility.

Thirdly, always check out your light bulb recycling details on how, why, and where to reclaim them. That way, you’ll not violate the rules of your municipality regarding this waste.

Recycling has been a viable way of promoting environmental health. Like other electronic devices, you can recycle old or burned light bulbs. This waste shouldn’t be allowed to end up in landfills.

As mentioned countlessly, they contain substances that can temper environmental health. This means both animals, plants, and humans aren’t safe.