Can I Recycle Lamps and Bulbs?

  • By Michael Tuymer
  • 02/01/16

You can’t just throw lamps in the trash. Lamps contain mercury and in most cases are considered hazardous. The EPA regulates the management of spent lamps. Most states do not allow hazardous lamps to be disposed in solid-waste landfills.

An environmental concern, mercury is a metallic element that can accumulate in living tissue. In sufficient concentrations, mercury may cause adverse health effects. Sources of mercury in the environment from human activity include coal-burning power plants, batteries, and fluorescent and HID lamps.

Small amounts of mercury are a necessary component in fluorescent and HID lamps, but when a lamp is broken, crushed or dispensed in a landfill or incinerator, mercury may be released to the air, surface water or groundwater. Considering this, it is a good policy to keep the mercury in fluorescent and HID lamps out of the solid waste-stream by recycling.

Lamps can be recycled through a bulk pickup service, prepaid mail-in containers (UNcertified for transit), or drums of crushed lamps using a drum-top lamp-crushing machine. The waste will arrive at a certified recycling facility where lamps are removed from their containers and fed into a specialized machine. The entire process is fully automatic and incorporated in a container in which the air is brought to sub-pressure, thereby preventing mercury from being released into the environment. The phosphor powder is separated from the glass and metal byproducts. Clean glass and aluminum end-caps are separated and stored for re-use. The mercury-bearing powder is collected, and then retorted to drive out the mercury. At the end of the process the glass, metal end-caps, powder and mercury can all be reused.

Once the materials have been fully processed by the recycling facility, an official certificate of recycling will be produced for your recordkeeping.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

About the Author

Michael Tuymer is project manager for Air Cycle Corporation. He can be reached at [email protected] or 800/909-9709.

Featured

  • Three U.S. Universities Install Acre Security Access Control Platform

    Cloud-native physical and digital security solutions company Acre Security recently announced that it has deployed its access control platform at three major universities in the U.S., according to a news release. Acre partnered with Atrium Campus to provide coverage for more than 69,000 students at the University of Virginia (UVA), George Mason University, and Rockhurst University.

  • Photo courtesy of Spiezle Architectural Group, Inc.

    West Melbourne School for Science Completes Expansion Project

    The West Melbourne School for Science, which serves students grades PreK–6 in West Melbourne, Fla., recently completed a 12,450-square-foot elementary school expansion, according to a news release.

  • How One School Reimagined Learning Spaces—and What Others Can Learn

    When Collegedale Academy, a PreK–8 school outside Chattanooga, Tenn., needed a new elementary building, we faced the choice that many school leaders eventually confront: repair an aging facility or reimagine what learning spaces could be. Our historic elementary school held decades of memories for families, including some who had once walked its halls as children themselves. But years of wear and the need for costly repairs made it clear that investing in the old building would only patch the problems rather than solve them.

  • Elevating Campus Maintenance: How Power Wash Drones are Transforming Educational Facilities

    As today’s campuses grow larger and more architecturally complex, keeping exteriors clean, safe, and inviting has never been tougher. Facilities leaders are under constant pressure to stretch budgets, meet safety standards, and support sustainability goals—all while tackling the stubborn challenge of exterior cleaning.