Disposing of light bulbs has become a more complicated process, now that there are so many different types of light bulbs available. In this article, I will go through the various types of light bulbs and discuss how best to dispose of the different types that are available.
Incandescent Light Bulbs: Incandescent bulbs are currently being phased out, and in some places they are no longer available for sale at all anymore. However, many of us still have them in the home, and it is important to know how to properly dispose of them.
Incandescent light bulbs have no toxic materials in them, so they should simply be placed in your trash. However, that does not mean that they are not hazardous. If they were to break when being disposed of, they could easily cut you or perhaps the people who dispose of your waste. In order to do this, put them in a box of approximately the same size as the bulb. This way, the bulb is less likely to break, and if it does, the box may contain the shards.
Halogen Light Bulbs: Halogen bulbs should basically be disposed of in the same way as incandescent light bulbs. However, you should be more cautious with them. They include a small amount of halogen gas inside of them which could escape if the bulb was to break.
Fortunately, halogen light bulbs are less fragile. They also come in packaging designed to protect them. Simply put the halogen bulb back in its original packaging and place it into your trash.
Fluorescent Light Bulbs:
Fluorescent bulbs are highly toxic when broken, and they cannot simply be placed inside of your trash. In fact, in most areas, it is illegal to do so. Inside, they contain mercury, a highly toxic substance.
Fortunately, there are no places in the United States where you cannot recycle your fluorescent bulbs. Instead, what you need to do is to find what the options are in your area and use them. Note that not all areas have year-round recycling, so you should take note of when recycling is possible. All of this information is available at the EPA website.