WE RECYCLE:

• all fluorescent lamps regardless of shape or size
• compact fluorescents
• broken fluorescent lamps
• high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps
• mercury vapor lamps
• metal halide lamps
• high pressure sodium lamps
• LCD lamps

WE DO NOT RECYCLE:

• incandescent lights (common light bulbs)

HAZARDOUS WASTE:

• Fluorescent and HID lamps are considered hazardous waste under Minnesota law because of the mercury content. They may not be put into the waste stream.
• All spent fluorescent and HID lamps are saved, stored, and shipped for recycling.
• Questions about hazardous waste regulations concerning fluorescents and HID lamps should be directed to
  • Ramsey County Department of Public Health phone: 633-EASY
  • Bob Jacobs, Director of Environmental Health & Safety, at (96)2-6533.

HOW & WHERE TO RECYCLE:

• It is important that lamps not be broken. Broken lamps release mercury into the environment. The broken pieces still must be recycled but at several times the expense.
• Removal of all fluorescent and HID lamps from fixtures should be done by an electrician or Building Service Worker.
• BSW workers store spent lamps in their original containers in custodial rooms until full.
• Full containers of spent lights are taken by the Building Service Workers and brought to the Physical Plant for storage until shipped to a hazardous waste processor.
• Broken fluorescents must be carefully swept up and placed in containers marked "Broken Fluorescents". These containers have tops and should be found in most custodial rooms in UST buildings.

FACTS ABOUT FLUORESCENTS: 

• Fluorescent and HID lamps are our best environmental choice. Compared to an incandescent, the power plant energy used over the lifetime of a 28-watt fluorescent produces 1,020 pounds less carbon dioxide and three pounds less nitrogen.

• Minnesota restricts the sale, use and disposal of products containing mercury.  On Aug 1, 2007, a law sponsored by Rep. Melissa Hortman ( DFL-Brooklyn Park ) and Sen. John Marty (DFL-Roseville), requires that fluorescent light bulbs be recycled in the state.

• Fluorescent and HID lamps use 50% less electrical energy. In Minnesota, 69 percent of our electricity is generated by coal-burning power plants. Since coal contains trace amounts of mercury, coal-burning power plants release mercury into the atmosphere. Approximately half the mercury discharges in Minnesota are from coal-burning power plants. The less electricity we use, the less mercury is released to the atmosphere.
• Fluorescent lights last longer and cost less to run than incandescent lights. While they may be more expensive up front, the purchase price is only a small part of the cost of the light. For example, replacing one 100 watt bulb with a compact fluorescent of equivalent light intensity can save as much as $50 over the lifetime of the compact fluorescent bulb.
• 100% of the material in collected fluorescent lamps is recyclable. The mercury, glass and metal are reused in other products.
• State officials estimate that Minnesotans throw away 10 million fluorescent light bulbs every year. Discarded fluorescents are responsible for putting about 173 pounds of mercury annually into our state environment.
• When mercury-containing products, such as fluorescent lamps, are placed in the household trash, the mercury may be released to the environment from waste incinerators or from landfills. Mercury is a heavy metal that evaporates easily and travels long distances in the atmosphere before falling to soil and water when it rains. Mercury builds up in fish tissue and increases in concentration as it is transferred along the aquatic food chain. Mercury that has accumulated in fish tissue can be passed on to wildlife and to humans who eat the fish or the wildlife. Mercury affects the central nervous system in humans. The good news: according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency mercury pollution is decreasing in Minnesota.
• Any institution that replaces or removes from service the equivalent of more than 1000 four-foot fluorescent lamps per year must have a hazardous waste generator license from Ramsey County and a waste storage license from the state. UST has these licenses.

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