How to Safely Dispose Light Bulbs

Dispose light bulbs safely. (Photo Credits)

Light bulbs – whether traditional or energy efficient have to be disposed properly.

Berkshireeagle.com emphasized that homeowners should exercise caution and should really be careful in handling light bulbs that have burnt out and are ready for disposal. Electrical Association

“Carefully unscrew your bulb and place it in a bulb box or another secure container that will not allow it to break. Locate a nearby mercury disposal facility using the Massachusetts DEP’s interactive map and drop off your bulb for disposal. Never dispose of a CFL bulb in your regular trash.”

If it breaks

In case of breakage, UKIP Daily shared this protocol, which is basically what is being implemented in the entire United Kingdom.

“the UK’s Health Protection Agency advice is for householders to take quite a lot of precautions in the case of breakages. ‘Evacuate the room immediately’, it instructs us. ‘Make sure the room is well ventilated for 15 minutes and avoid inhaling dust from the broken bulb’. Then, when you feel it is safe enough to creep back in, ‘Wear rubber gloves, sweep up broken material using a dustpan, avoiding stepping on the shards of glass littering the floor and wipe the floor with a damp cloth’. But by no means use a vacuum cleaner to clear it all up as the machine’s sucking action could spread toxic mercury around the house.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Related Electrical Repair Services

If you however think that you may want to just use light bulbs that hardly contain mercury, the website WiselyGreen.com enumerated some alternatives. Electrician

“On the other hand, there are some options, of course, to using these new energy saving bulbs…and that is to stock up on all the incandescent bulbs you can before they run out! Of course, this isn’t the most practical option. Better yet, why not switch to new LED light bulbs? Even though they are the most expensive for initial purchase at about $7.50 a 40-watt bulb, they also can last more than 20 years.”

Check out the rest of the article here.

So what type of light bulb do you use at home?