OT- Florescent light bulbs in garage

Just put them in the trash, but be careful. They are under negative pressure and can implode if banged too hard.

Tom

You and your wife or best buddy can put on work gloves and safety glasses and pretend to be Jedi Knights.

Earle

Or stick them in the ground by any high tension lines and admire the glow.

Hold them perpendicular to the ground about 12 ft in the air, and drop em. Then get a broom and dust pan, cause that's all they'll be. td

Well the most comon solution is to simply toss them in the trash...

They really should be disposed of properly to a company that will recycle them or to a company that can properly dispose of hazardous waste, or a hazardous waste drop of site..

Flourescent tubes contain mercury -- something we really shouldn't just dump in a land fill..

I recently had to dispose of almost two thousand tubes, and took them to the a local collection point for hazardous waste -- granted because of the number I had I was charged a fee for proper disposal..

Chris Licensed Electrician...

Are you sure there is mercury in a fluorescent light tube? If so, that is news to me.

Tom

Yep, I just checked and I found that there is mercury in fluorescent light tubes.

Tom

Not just mercury.

The mercury is bound into the powder that coats the inside of the tube, along with other heavy metals that aren't particularly healthy to ingest.

Approximately 8/13/03 04:46, mabar uttered for posterity:

The last time I bought new tubes, I took one of hte old ones with me to get the right kind, Homey Ds took my old tubes for me. I don't think there is any recycling issues, so I just put the rest of them in the trash. I know they are not recycled, but I don't know if there is a special disposal rule that must be followed.

Yes there is..

Chris Licensed Electrician.