Should You Recycle Light Bulbs or Just Throw Them Away?

Light bulbs became more efficient and longer-lasting in the 1980s when compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs arrived on the scene. Efficiency and longevity skyrocketed again when LED bulbs entered the consumer mainstream in the mid-2000s. Both of these new types outlast traditional incandescent bulbs, which are no longer available because they don’t meet federal efficiency standards.

No bulb lasts forever. That means consumers like you and me have to figure out what to do with a bulb when it no longer works.

“Think of your light bulbs as batteries,” counsels home energy efficiency expert Andrei Marveaux. “Some can be recycled, while others need to go to a facility for appropriate disposal.” The issue isn’t just about recycling materials to make other products. Some bulbs contain toxic chemicals that need to stay out of landfills.

“It’s a small step,” says professional home buyer Erwin Miciano, who has ample opportunity to replace bulbs in the course of his work. “But proper disposal helps keep homes (and the environment) safe!”

If you’ve got a stash of old, dead light bulbs and you don’t know what to do with them, this post is for you.

Types of Light Bulbs

Considering how long light bulbs have been around, the transition from traditional light bulbs to contemporary high-efficiency ones has been fast. So fast, in fact, that many homes still get their light from three different types of bulbs.

Incandescents

These are the bulbs popularized by Thomas Edison. They produce light by the electrical resistance generated by passing electricity through a filament, which makes the filament glow. To protect the filament and make it last as long as possible, it has to be enclosed in a pressurized glass bulb.

Even though incandescents are no longer available on store shelves, many people still have a cache of unused bulbs, and plenty of folks prefer the warm light they produce.

Halogens

Like incandescents, halogen bulbs contain wire filaments sealed in glass. But the glass is much thicker and there’s a halogen gas sealed in the bulb. It allows them to burn hotter and brighter than regular incandescents.

Fluorescent tubes and CFLs

Take a fluorescent tube, form it into a bulb-like shape and give it a screw base, and you’ve got a CFL. Both types of bulbs produce light by the excitation of a gas, and the problem they create for disposal is that the gas contains mercury, which is an environmental hazard.

LEDs

LEDs aren’t really bulbs. They contain light-emitting diodes (which is where the acronym LED comes from), and the diodes emit light whether or not they are protected by an enclosure. Manufacturers provide traditional bulb-shaped enclosures to provide continuity for consumers, but they could be any shape. They aren’t pressurized, and they aren’t glass; they’re plastic.

LEDs may contain harmful chemicals, especially those that have a coating on the enclosure to change the color of the light, but they usually don’t. The main reason to recycle them is that they contain microchips that can be used to make new bulbs.

Recycle or Throw Away?

This is a simple decision, according to Marveaux: “LEDs, CFLs, and fluorescents? Absolutely recycle them. Incandescents? Wrap ’em up and toss ’em in the trash.”

The reason that wrapping incandescent bulbs is important is that the gas inside the glass enclosure is pressurized, which means the bulb can explode. If you simply toss an unwrapped incandescent in the trash, a waste management worker could be injured. That’s why, as an extra precaution, I usually put used incandescent bulbs in a paper shopping bag and break them with a hammer before tossing the bag, bulbs and all.

You might also be able to throw halogen bulbs in the trash— check with your local trash management agency. The glass contains quartz to make it stronger, and it can’t be processed with regular glass because it has a different melting point. You may have to send them to a recycling facility.

How to Recycle Used Bulbs

Miciano advises that many home improvement stores, like The Home Depot or Lowe’s, have recycling programs where you can drop off CFLs. You can usually also recycle LEDs at these same locations, but check first.

“Just don’t throw them in your regular recycling bin, because they need to be processed separately,” he says. “Always check local regulations. Some cities or waste disposal centers have specific programs for recycling or disposing of bulbs properly. It’s also a good idea to visit websites like Earth911, where you can search for local recycling options by item.”

The same also goes for fluorescent tubes, but because of their size and fragility, waste collectors tend to have special rules for recycling and disposing of them. Check with your local waste management service to find out what these rules are and where to find a facility, if necessary.

What About Holiday Lights?

Holiday lights may feature incandescent or LED bulbs, and the type of bulb will determine how to recycle them.

• Tip: Incandescent bulbs are larger than LEDs and have a screw base.

Your local waste collection service might offer a recycling program for unwanted or broken holiday lights. Specialty electronics recycling services sometimes accept holiday lights, as do home centers like The Home Depot or Lowe’s. Companies that sell lights online, like Christmas Light Source or Holiday LEDs, also offer recycling services.

About the Experts

• Erwin Miciano buys homes in the Los Angeles area and prepares them for re-sale. He is the owner of Semi Homes.
• Andrei Marveaux is the Managing Director of SolarTech Solutions/The Home Upgrade. He holds a degree in engineering and is passionate about sustainable energy and environmental conservation.