LEDtronics has launched the Green Lights Initiative, a 60-day campaign to raise awareness about proper lighting recycling.
Recycling at home or work has become part of our daily routine, but one product that still raises questions over disposal is light bulbs. Do they go out with the normal trash? Get tossed in recycling containers? Do you save them for the next neighborhood e-waste event? The answers aren’t easy, thanks in part to new technology along with society’s growing environmental concerns.
Besides donating to Keep America Beautiful with a check purposely dated Nov. 15 to coincide with America Recycles Day, LEDtronics is taking to social media, print and electronic media to get the word out about the initiative. New and long-time supporters of proper lighting disposal will be urged to sign an online petition at Change.org.
“‘When my light bulbs burn out, where do I put them?’ Being in the lighting business for nearly 40 years, we get that question a lot,” says Shaan Lodhie, LEDtronics’ COO. “Our company makes only LEDs, which are safe to dispose of in trash bins because they contain no hazardous chemicals. But that’s not necessarily the right option for environmental, safety, and other reasons. When it comes to CFL and fluorescent bulbs, both of which contain small amounts of mercury, chucking them in the trashcan or with the recycling isn’t wise for intensified reasons.”
LEDtronics’ donation to Keep America Beautiful will help the non-profit with its mission to “inspire and educate people to take action everyday to improve and beautify their community environment.”
Tips on Disposing Light Bulbs
The Green Lights Initiative will share information about how to properly dispose and recycle the most common types of light bulbs.
▪ CFL and fluorescent: Small amounts of the toxic chemical mercury make these bulbs harmful to your health and environment. Simply tossing them in the trash is unwise, and in some circumstances unlawful. Because broken CFL and fluorescent bulbs are damaging to the environment if they enter landfills or the water supply, more stringent and rigorous steps are required to dispose. A local home improvement store or recycling center might be able to take this work – and the bulbs – off your hands.
▪ LED: Safe as it is to dispose of LEDs in trash bins due to an absence of toxic chemicals, recycling them is still the best option from an environmental and safety perspective. Better than tossing them in your recycling container, locate a recycling center that accepts LEDs, which contain reusable components.
▪ Incandescent and halogen: Like LEDs, these types typically contain no toxic chemicals. Disposing them in a trashcan or recycling bin is one solution, but a better one is handing them over to a recycling center. Because glass in incandescents and halogens shatters easily, wrapping the bulbs in recyclable packaging materials is also smart.
If you need help finding a recycling center that accepts bulbs, visit search.earth911.com or batteriesplus.com/t/recycling/Light-Bulb.
For further information on the Green Lights Initiative, visit LEDtronics.com/recycle.
