Hope everyone is hanging in there! Alright here's my problem. I just upgraded a customers existing older fluorescent fixtures with new T8 bulbs & electronic ballast(thanks to rebates by local POCO). Now I have a stockpile of 300+ 8' and 4' fluorescent bulbs. Local transfer station(landfill) says "just dump 'em with everything else, no money right now for separate pick-up." What should I do? With that many bulbs possibly breaking, is there a health concern?

The mercury content may be a concern...

There companies here that recycle them. For a fee of course!

Ob

Don't know if you have an allowance budgeted into the job for disposal fees, as it will probably be cost prohibitive, but Veolia Environmental Services sells several different sizes of bulk RECYCLEPAK kits for fluorescent and HID lamps.
You purchase their container boxes for a set price, which includes the FedEx return shipping, disposal fees and any needed documentation. I have seen them in the HD Supply catalog.

If they're still good, you could offer them up on freecycle or cragslist... Otherwise, I don't think you will find anyone who will take that many of your hands for free. You're beyond the "customer service/publicity" point where hardware stores and other retailers offer free recycling of fluorescent lamps. Guess you could always take them in a couple at a time for the next 10 years...

A quick web search turned up this.

http://www.htr-group.com/recycle/

Larry C

Thanks for the replies. Looks like I'll be driving 3 hours to the nearest bulb recycling center. Don't think I'll be pushing business lighting upgrades as hard as I wanted to.:)

don't let this determ the direction that your business takes. You should of looked in to the disposal situation before you finalized the bid. Put this all behind you and spend somne time looking into a way to dispose of the bulbs. There are ways out there. Plus you can make more on your future jobs by marking up the disposal fee

It depends on local ordinances. The fed require that a dump that takes flouresent bulbs must be TCLP compliant. Yes recycling does cost so pend on where you stand on recyling you may have options. A side note is that 100% of the murcury can be reclaimedand reused in new lamps. The Murcury content is less the you find in fish.

Out my way the County dump takes T-12, old TV's, etc. without any fee...

It's the only item they will take without a fee !

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Call around, you might find that any seller of tubes is required to accept burnt out lamps as a condition of business.

Such laws typically apply to used motor oil or dead lead-acid batteries, too.

These requirements are normally imposed to stop random disposal of heavy metals/ motor oils that could find their way into the water supply.

Here in Germany the price of disposal is a mandatory part of what you pay for the new ones. That why the disposal itself is free. I paid it in advance.

But that's not Missouri.