What to do with UV tube lights after six months?

[Sapphire]

I've had Vash for about a year and a half now, so I have three Reptisun 10.0 tube bulbs lying around that were used for six months and then replaced. I don't think you can just throw them away, can you? I've just been putting them in a corner for now (out of sight, out of mind), but I'm not going to be able to keep doing that for the rest of his life. :lol:

How do you dispose of them? Is there any kind of recycling program for them, maybe?

Thanks!

 

[Claudiusx]

Idk if its illegal but I always took them out to my backyard and had some target practice with my pellet gun lol..... I just cleaned up and put them in the trashcan. Idk if thats bad or not :silent:

Yeah well I found out it is bad so definitely don't do that.

-Brandon

 

[Sapphire]

Idk if its illegal but I always took them out to my backyard and had some target practice with my pellet gun lol..... I just cleaned up and put them in the trashcan. Idk if thats bad or not :silent:

-Brandon

My understanding is that when fluorescent lights are broken they release some chemical or something that is harmful. So I don't really want to break them or have anyone else break them (like if I just threw them in the trash). I guess if you broke them outside it wouldn't be horrible because there's lots of fresh air, but I don't have a yard and I hate the idea of smashing glass on my porch...

 

[Claudiusx]

Well, im standing far away from it when they break. I heard something about them releasing some chemical but I'm not sure if its true. Well actually they have chemicals in them because thats what makes the light and what not, but I didn't think it would really hurt anything tbh. I will look it up for you.

-Brandon

 

[Claudiusx]

From zoomeds website:

FAQ:
Q: How should I dispose of this lamp?
A: You should check with your local waste company or visit http://www.lamprecycle.org.

Hmm, seems like ignorance was my downfall lol. It says on lamprecycle.org that all flourescent bulbs have a small amount of mercury in them and that you should not put them in the trash. While I couldn't find if there actually is mercury in reptisun tubes, you definitely don't want to shoot them lol....

Here is where recycle.org redirects you to finding a place to recycle your bulbs at: http://earth911.com/

Edit: Nevermind they do contain mercury

-Brandon

 

[Sapphire]

:lol: Guess we both learned something here.

Looks like there's no where near me that recycles them... But there's some mail-in programs. I'll have to look more closely at these. Thanks for looking that up! (though I guess I could have done that myself lol)

 

[Claudiusx]

Yeah I feel really dumb now lol.

What it looks like to me is most home improvement stores like home depot and lowes will take them in for you. You don't have one of those stores near you?

-Brandon

 

[midmichicer]

I have all mine in the boxes they came in. Did some research and its against the law to throw them away and have to be taken to a hazardous waste place. I am calling on monday for more info.

 

[midmichicer]

Yeah I feel really dumb now lol.

What it looks like to me is most home improvement stores like home depot and lowes will take them in for you. You don't have one of those stores near you?

-Brandon

No they wont. They only take compact bulbs. I just got off the phone with Home Depot and they gave me the info I listed above.

 

[Sapphire]

Yeah, according to that recycling website you linked, Home Depot only takes CFL, not fluorescent tubes. There are some recycling programs that take them but only for residents of certain counties and stuff.

So this makes me wonder.... Either almost everyone who has a beardie has been illegally throwing away their old lights, or they all have piles of them lying around just like I do. :lol:

Are there any reptiles that need a lower output UV light that could benefit from a used reptisun 10? I know the output after six months is supposedly not good enough for a beardie anymore, but maybe it's good enough for a tropical reptile or something? I don't know much about other reptiles' UV lighting needs so maybe that's a stupid suggestion.

 

[Claudiusx]

What If I Can't Recycle?

If your state or local environmental regulatory agency permits you to put used or broken CFLs in the regular household trash, seal the bulb in a plastic bag and put it into the outside trash for the next normal trash collection.

From EPA.gov.

More info: http://www.epa.gov/cfl/cflrecycling.html

-Brandon

 

[Sapphire]

^^ Except reptisun's aren't CFLs, they're fluorescent tubes.

 

[Claudiusx]

They used CFLs as a general term I think, because they also talked about fluorescent tubes on the page.

-Brandon

 

[Claudiusx]

http://www.epa.gov/wastes/hazard/wastetypes/universal/lamps/
That link provides a link on how to recycle them, which redirects you to the recycling page for CFLs, so they should require the same recycling procedures.

-Brandon

 

[Beardednoob]

Brandon you were polluting your ground with mercury? That explains a lot! :wink:

Utah doesn't have a policy in place for mercury containing bulbs just wants up to recycle if possible if not then throwing them away as a last resort but, it is not illegal here. 8)