Safe Disposal of Energy Saving Light Bulbs
The Government, retailers and energy companies are working
together to phase on inefficient light bulbs, in accordance with
regulations adopted by the European Commission.
As we phase out inefficient light bulbs, householders are
reminded that energy Saving Light bulbs contain a very small amount
of mercury, and therefore need to be recycled/ disposed of
correctly.
All retailers who sell energy saving bulbs are obligated under
the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations to
provide information to the public about where they can take waste
bulbs to recycle them. Most retailers have funded Designated
Collection Facilities where you can recycle bulbs. These are
normally found at local authority civic amenity sites. Locally
these can be found at the Household Waste Recycling Centres:
When a bulb does break, although it’s unlikely to cause harm, it
is always best to minimize exposure to mercury and broken glass.
The best thing to do is to:
- Ventilate and vacate the room for at least 15 minutes
- Use rubber gloves to clean up, and put all particles and glass
fragments in a plastic bag
- Gently sweep up all particles and glass fragments but don’t use
a vacuum cleaner
- Wipe the area with a damp cloth, and then add that cloth to the
plastic bag
- Don’t put in with the household rubbish collection
- Take to the local Household Waste Recycling Centre (District
centres are located at Whitfield, Deal and Sandwich) and place in
the correct recycling container.
Contact Us
Climate Change Officer
Property, Leisure and Waste Management
White Cliffs Business Park
Dover
Kent CT16 3PJ
Tel: 01304 872218
E-mail: energy@dover.gov.uk
