Which Lights Have Mercury?
Fluorescent lights contain mercury and must be disposed carefully. Do not put them in the garbage or dumpster.
Households can dispose of their waste mercury products at one of these disposal locations.
Businesses can dispose of mercury through a mercury reclamation facility or a hazardous waste management company.
These lights contain mercury.
Fluorescent tubes: linear tubes 1 - 8 feet long, including the T-12 and T-8.
Low mercury or 'green tips': linear tubes that sometimes contain lesser amounts of mercury;
Compact fluorescent lamps (CFL's): 'twisty' bulbs that replace traditional incandescent light bulbs;
High intensity discharge (HID) lamps: mercury vapor (farmyards, streets, general floods); metal halide (sports stadiums); high-pressure sodium (street lights, general floods);low-pressure sodium and xenon short-arc lamps. They are used when high levels of light over large areas are required, as in gymnasiums and parkinglots, and are also used in vehicle headlamps;
Fluomeric lamps: high-wattage lamps with a long-burning life (up to 20,000 hours) that replace incandescent systems. Ideal for high-bay lighting such as industrial ceilings, street lights, building facades, billboards and sports arenas.
Ultraviolet: specialty lamps used for suntanning, medical treatments of the skin, in black lights and in germicidal lamps that disinfect food, water and air;
Other lights: neon lights, U-tubes and circular tubes, shatter shields (fluorescents coated with plastic to prevent breakage).
Mercury-containing lights can be good for the environment.
If managed properly, there are several advantages to using mercury lamps:
- they reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- they are three to four times more energy efficient than incandescent lamps
- they cost less to use
- they last up to ten times longer
