Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

Local councils should provide facilities for recycling energy efficient bulbs, as they are recyclable. Alternatively your supplier / lighing shop may take them back for recycling. These bulbs contain small amounts of mercury, as they are a type of fluorescent bulb (sometimes known as CFL - Compact Fluorescent Light).

For more information try Recolight.

Fluorescent Tubes

There are more than 100 million fluorescent tubes in use in the UK, and each year around 3,000 tonnes of these need to be disposed of (including 4 tonnes of mercury). A fluorescent light tube contains enough mercury to pollute 30,000 litres of water to the point it is not safe to drink. Under the Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005 fluorescent tubes are classified as hazardous waste. This means they must be disposed of in accordance with the regulations.

There are a number of processors round the country to will take small and large volumes of tubes and recycle them. Some will collect, some charge for the service.

Some councils use these processors, but some still do not have facilities for recycling fluoresecnt tubes, in which case they will dispose of them in a designated hazardous waste site.

Normal (Incandescent) Light Bulbs

Most local authorities will not accept light bulbs for recycling. They should be disposed of by wrapping them carefully, in case of breakage. Light bulbs contain a vacuum which causes the glass to implode when cracked - this can be dangerous. For this reason it is not recommended to re-use them as Christmas decorations or any other situation in which they risk being broken.

If you ned to replace a light bulb, replace it with an energy efficient bulb. In fact, just do it anyway, because you will save yourself money - see our calculator.

Halogen Bulbs

These are incandescent bulbs and should be recycled as such.

Halogen bulbs are more expensive than normal bulbs. They typically last longer, and have a slightly better energy efficiency, although nowhere near that of flourescent bulbs.

They are sold as either low voltage (e.g. 12V) or high voltage (240V). Make sure you buy the right replacement bulbs!

LED Lighting

Although LED lighting has been around since the 1960s it is only recently that it has become available as a practical solution for domestic lighting. An LED light can produce three times the output of a low energy (CFL) bulb of the same wattage, and can last 100 times longer. They are not suitable for all applications,can be expensie, and difficult to obtain, but worth consideration, especially if you have alcoves or units to light.

It is likely than LED lighting will become more practical for more domestic applications in the years to come.

Low Voltage Lighting

Low voltage does not mean low energy! A 50W low voltage bulb consumes the same amount of energy as a 50W conventional bulb,even though it is running on 12V rather than 240V.

Dimmer Switches

Installing intelligent dimmer switches can dramatically extend the life of bulbs. Think about installing them, particularly where you can't replace conventional bulbs, for example where you have spot bulbs. You will find that where you were replacing bulbs every few months, it will change to every few years.