How to Dispose of Light Bulbs

There are three main types of light bulbs you can recycle:

• Light emitting diodes (LEDs) – LEDs don’t contain any harmful substances, so are safe to dispose of with general waste, but it’s better to recycle them. LED strip lights, Christmas lights, or just LED bulbs are recyclable. They’re crushed and component parts separated (aluminium, lead, and glass), which are recycled and used in other products.
• Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) – energy-saving CFLs contain trace amounts of mercury, so they class as a type of hazardous waste. The WEEE Directive requires removal of mercury and any other chemicals before recycling, so it’s important you recycle CFLs separately or with WEEE waste. Once it’s removed, glass and metal components are recycled separately.
• Fluorescent tubes – all fluorescent tubes also contain a small amount of mercury, so require specialised light bulb recycling. Any mercury and other chemicals are removed and can be reused in new bulbs, while the glass and metal components are separated and recycled individually.

Unfortunately, you cannot recycle old light bulbs such as:

• Incandescent bulbs – they contain no toxic or harmful chemicals but the fine wires within them are difficult to separate, so they can’t be recycled with other types of glass. Instead, they should be disposed of with your household rubbish or commercial general waste.
• Halogen bulbs – like incandescent or filament light bulbs, the thin wires mean halogen bulbs are also not accepted for recycling in many cases. But they don’t contain any toxic elements, so are safe to dispose of in your household or commercial general waste bins.

If the actual glass of the bulb is cracked, shattered, or broken, you can recycle them in the same way as any that have expired. Be careful with any CFLs or fluorescent bulbs as the mercury or other chemicals may leak, which can be hazardous to human health and the environment.

Wear gloves to handle any broken light bulbs and clean any pieces of glass with a paper towel. Wrap the broken pieces in some waste paper, fabric, or place them in a plastic sealed bag. Then recycle alongside any other old CFL or fluorescent bulbs.

No, you should not put old light bulbs in your recycling bin at home. This is because most domestic recycling bins don’t accept glass for electrical items for recycling. Businesses should also avoid putting light bulbs in their dry mixed recycling bins and instead arrange specific bins to store and recycle your old bulbs.

There are a few places where you can recycle light bulbs:

• WEEE bins – one of the easiest ways of recycling light bulbs in bulk for businesses or households is to arrange delivery and collection of a WEEE waste bin by a licensed waste carrier. Store any used, broken, or expired light bulbs in the bin. They’re then transported to an appropriate recycling centre nearby for safe separation and recycling.
• Recycling centres – most council recycling centres have specific light bulb recycling bins where you can dispose of any type of light bulb. Check whether your local recycling centre offers such facilities.
• Select shops – certain supermarkets and other big stores have light bulb recycling bins for quick and convenient recycling. Often these are near any battery recycling bins they may also provide.