Recycle Old Tube Lights

If you have old christmas or string led lights these can sometimes be accepted at your local lowe s or home depot so be sure to check when you are getting ready to replace your decorative lights.

Recycle old tube lights.

The epa recommends that you bring old cfls to qualified recyclers rather than disposing of them in trash cans or curbside recycling bins. Be sure to call the store ahead of time before you bring in your old tubes. Fluorescent bulbs or tubes fall into the hazardous waste category since they also contain mercury. Many recycling locations have temporarily closed and we expect more to follow.

How to recycle fluorescent tubes. Social distancing is strongly encouraged as is staying home. Visit the eco options website to learn more. Dave lake of colerain township has been replacing his unattractive fluorescent light bulbs in his home with new led bulbs.

So he has been taking his old bulbs to lowe s and home depot for recycling. Some bulb manufacturers and other organizations sell pre labeled recycling kits that allow you to mail used bulbs to recycling centers. Given the current situation we encourage you to reserve your recycling for when the covid 19 pandemic has passed. Luckily these tubes will last up to 15 000 hours so you won t need to worry about recycling them often.

Note that some stores may only recycle certain types of bulbs such as cfls or 4 ft 1 2 m fluorescent tubes. Recycle fluorescent lights cfls and hids at no charge throughout washington state. You can bring old cfls to the home depot for free recycling. You fill up a kit with old bulbs seal it and bring it to the post office or leave it for your postal carrier.

If you re concerned about the mercury content in cfls consider led bulbs. The cost of each kit includes shipping charges to the recycling center. Fluorescent tubes serve as an energy efficient alternative to incandescent light bulbs but they contain low levels of toxic mercury which can be released into the air or water if the tubes are broken.