Recycling Light Bulbs And Flurescent Tubes

Recent changes in legislation means that when you buy a light bulb any light bulb that does not have a filament you have already paid for it to be recycled it is built into the sale price.

This is known, delightfully as the WEEE regulations.

Theoretically you can be prosecuted if you don’t recycle but we have never heard of it happening.

Normal household light bulbs are excluded so are low voltage down lighters and spotlights. There are no nasty chemicals in these.

It is only when they don’t use a filament that you have to recycle them as it means they use a gas and chemicals to produce the light.

So generally if you cannot see a piece of curly wire inside the bulb, recycle it, it will normally be white in colour and you won’t be able to the insides very well anyway.

When in doubt recycle.

Why should these light bulbs and tubes be recycled?

It is because they each contain a minute amount of mercury which in any quantity is a very nasty chemical.

Each light bulb or tube is completely harmless on its own. But when you have many thousands of them together the mercury becomes harmful if it is allowed into the environment.

Once it is in the environment it cannot be removed, it gets into the water courses and pollutes rivers and eventually the sea, Fish and shellfish are particularly susceptible.

So all round bad stuff in quantity, please do your bit to ensure that we do not add to the mercury levels we already have.

Where can you recycle?

Domestic users:

Your local authority has a lamp recycling facility at your local recycling centre; they have to take them it is not an option.

Increasingly supermarkets are including them in their recycling bays so it will get easier and easier. Some are not so keen because you can get broken glass if users are not careful.

Or you can take them back to the shop where you bought them, you can even send them back to an online shop but you have to pay the cost of postage.

So it makes sense to take them to your local recycling centre, the council is being paid for providing the service so it isn’t adding to the council tax bill the lighting industry is paying.

What you cannot do is put them in your dustbin or in your recycling box.

Please be careful with the lamps and tubes if they are broken then they cannot be recycled.

You will suffer no harm as the amounts are miniscule in each lamp but it defeats the object of recycling.

So the system is quite simple and there are many ways to recycles without pain and remember you have paid for it so use it.

Commercial or business users:

When you buy lamps through your electrician make sure he recycles the old ones. He can take them back to the wholesaler he buys the new ones from.

If you buy them directly you can take them back to the wholesaler.

If you are a commercial user you can either take them to any electrical wholesaler, it doesn’t have to be the one you bought them from any of them will take them.

There is one little snag, there are lots of laws regarding transport of hazardous waste which now includes light bulbs and tubes, if you are the producer of the waste then you can transport it to a recycling point.

If you are not the producer then you must be a licensed waste carrier. And you must provide a duty of care waste note to the producer or you can both be prosecuted. The producer for not properly disposing of hazardous waste and the carrier for transporting it illegally. The fines are huge.

I know it seems like a sledge hammer to crack a nut but it is the fly tippers who are to blame there have been too many cases of illicit dumping and now the environment agency is cracking down and so we have some very strict rules and very severe penalties.

If you have a lot of tubes for example you can get them collected for free by one of the major recycling Companies such a Recolight.