Do light bulbs go in your bin?

Recycling Light Bulbs

A few people have been asking about what to do with light bulbs - James Thompson from Shropshire Council sent over this advice:
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Incandescent

 
Incandescent light bulbs should be disposed of in normal household waste. They can't be recycled like regular glass as the fine wires are very difficult to separate out in processing.

Compact Fluorescent Lamp

Compact fluorescent lamps are energy saving light bulbs and do not belong in the rubbish bin. They contain small amounts of mercury. Although this is completely safe for users of the lamps, they must be collected separately for disposal.

This ensures that valuable parts of the lamps, such as glass and metal, are not lost. The energy saving lamps can be disposed of for free at your local Council or other collection points.

Halogen

Halogen Light bulbs should be disposed of in normal household waste. They can't be recycled like regular glass as the fine wires are very difficult to separate out in processing.

Metal Halide

HID lamps are energy saving light bulbs and don't belong in the rubbish bin. They contain small amounts of mercury. Although this is completely safe for users of the lamps, they must be collected separately for disposal. Furthermore, it ensures that valuable parts of the lamps, such as glass and metal, aren't lost.

The energy saving lamps can be disposed of for free at your local Council or other collection points.

Light-Emitting Diode (LED)

LEDs don't contain harmful substances. They have an extremely long service life and are virtually maintenance free.

You should look for the disposal rules that apply to the equipment in which they're incorporated. Individual LEDs can be disposed of in household waste.

Fluorescent Tube

Fluorescent lamps are energy saving and don't belong in the rubbish bin. They contain small amounts of mercury. Although this is completely safe for users of the lamps, they must be collected separately for disposal. Furthermore, it ensures that valuable parts of the lamps, such as glass and metal, aren't lost.

The energy saving lamps can be disposed of for free at your local Council or other collection points.

Neon

Neon lamps are energy-saving bulbs that don't belong in the rubbish bin. They must be collected separately for disposal. Furthermore, it ensures that valuable parts of the lamps, such as glass and metal, aren't lost.

The energy saving lamps can be disposed of for free at your local Council or other collection points.

So I guess the upshot is - you get less waste in landfill if you use low energy bulbs, and use LED and fluorescent when you can as they last and last and last .........

I was in B and Q the other day and found the staff in the lighting department to be really helpful - so if in doubt go and ask them