Light Bulbs! - Page 2

Originally Posted by AAElectronicsRecycling

Honestly curious as to how on you end up with so many light bulbs...

Devin, "Hey mom this bulb's burned out again, don't worry I'll change it."

CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamps) are considered universal waste and there is a ban on them in most states waste streams. I handle a lot of CFLs and do pick ups for my E-waste customers. They are a very good business as long as you can get a lot of them together and have a nice outlet for recycling them. The prices for disposal/recycling should range from .07-.10 per linear foot for proper recycling. This is important because most of the large accounts I deal with want some type of certificate or proof that they were handled properly.

Also, if you are storing them they require a separate permit than the normal e-waste permits most states require you to have. They are considered universal. Be very careful with lightbulbs. They contain trace amounts of mercury which is why they are considered semi-hazardous. The big companies that own the machines which process the bulbs provide a box service with return postage. Those boxes cost the consumer upwards of .50 per linear foot. I do it for half that and make a pretty nice profit. With a solid book of business collecting universal waste you can send out trailer loads of properly packaged universal waste on a semi-regular basis.

If you are interested, I will say one thing about this business opportunity that you need to be aware of. U-Bend, HIDs, etc are all very expensive to recycle due to their awkward shape. These often cost .70-85 per bulb and most consumers are very surprised to hear their cost compared to the cost of the straight lamps. I have found universal waste recycling to be extremely lucrative and there is a very large market for it. The boxes being offered by the big companies leaves a huge market for those who are willing to provide their own boxes, collect and ship the material themselves in bulk.

I am hoping/assuming the bulbs you are talking about are incandescents. These contain little to no health hazards when broken (unless you cut yourself).

Oh, good question first off I get tons of lightbulbs from all my neighbors, My dads work, My own house we also use tons, And lightbulbs collected (Some people put in their recycling bin around here because they think they fit in the glass category)

I put the incandescent ones as well as xmas lights in coffee cans or microwaves with other smalll steel items and seal them up tape them shut as well. I figure if the lightbulbs make it to where the metal gets processed then they will be recycled! I only get steel price for them but better than nothing!

I'm really enjoying this lightbulb thread. I also like saving up mindless activities to do when I'm relaxing in the evenings. It's meditative to do piddling little work.

I like to remove the brass pieces from electrical plugs, for one thing, or sort through my screw piles for the non-ferris ones.

I'm unclear what we are supposed to to with CFL bulbs.

So I have a good use for CFL bulbs. When one burns out it is normally from something shorting out on the small circuit board in the plastic base. If you are careful you can open the plastic with out breaking the tube (where the mercury is). The easiest way to do this is to crush the metal screw in piece with pliers. Break of the metal bottom. Two wires connect it to a small circuit board with a baby transformer, some transistors, and a few other goodies. There will be another set of wires on the back side of the board that connect to the corkscrew cfl tube. These I just snip.

Another method is to use a big set of channel locks to apply pressure to the plastic and crush it. Just do it on the end away from the glass to avoid breaking that inner tube. This is the fastest way but you may want to get used to how they are layed out first.


Once you get quick at it, it only take a minute a bulb or so to get the board out. Not the fastest way to get scrap but it all adds up! Then I just take the unbroken tubes and drop them in the home depot recycle bin. I believe the local land fill also takes them for free. It is also always fun to see what blew up on the board and caused the bulb to stop working.

If this sounds confusing let me know and I will take pictures as I take one apart.

Thanks, CMG. I'd love to see pics next time you do some. I'm too afraid I'd break the bulb open if I started messing with it.

The next time I find some ill be sure to take pictures of all the steps!