Can I recycle fluorescent bulbs?
Determination where to recycle fluorescent bulbs may require little research and patience. Each community has a different way of handling fluorescent bulbs and may not be as easy to recycle them as other materials in your city. If recycling is not available, there are other ways to destroy bulbs.
The reason it is difficult to recycle fluorescent lamps is that the bulbs are made of several components that must be separated to eliminate them correctly. It is a much more demanding process than recycling bottles or newspapers. One of the components of fluorescent bulbs is mercury, which means that recycling rather than sending to a landfill is the best choice for these bulbs.
When a fluorescent bulb is recycled, the recycler separates different components of the bulb. Metal terminal caps are sold for metal scrap. The glass is refurbished into new glass and the mercury is reused in the new fluorescent light Bulbs.
the need for work on the components of the bulb means that oftenThe communities are not set up to recycle fluorescent bulbs. The best way to find out whether your community is able to recycle these bulbs is to call a local or state environmental regulatory agency. They can provide you with the nearest location that provides recycling of fluorescent bulbs.
If your community does not have an established plan for recycling fluorescent bulbs, you should carefully consider how you destroy them. While most communities do not require these bulbs to be considered hazardous waste, on average, there are five milligrams of mercury to the bulb. Mercury can escape from the bulb if they are broken or damaged. Once it is outside, mercury can enter and pollute groundwater.
If you have to destroy these bulbs with household garbage, there are several things of trok that you can do to reduce the risks of contaminating soil. When he burns one of these lights, doubleTE in a bag that you can seal or tie and place it in the external garbage container. This process significantly reduces the risk of contaminating both your home and to the mercury landfill.
Whether you can recycle fluorescent lamps in your area, they are still a good, energy -efficient choice. They require less energy to provide light than a traditional bulb. Even if you have to destroy them as household garbage, they reduce the amount of waste you have. Fluorescent bulbs last approximately ten times longer than equivalent bulbs.