by Angela V Remember the last time you changed a burnt out light bulb? Did you recycle it or throw it in the trash? If you live in British Columbia, you can actually recycle lights of all shapes and sizes, including LEDs, halogens, incandescent, CFLs, fluorescent tubes and more. Light fixtures are also recyclable including standing lamps, holiday and garden string lights, chandeliers, bike lights and more.
I just recently found out about Product Care Recycling in Canada. They have been collecting lights since 2010 and have recycled over 40 million lights so far, keeping the glass, metal, and phosphor powder out of our landfills and waterways.
Another great benefit of recycling is that the glass and metal from the lights can be separated and recycled into new products, making them useful to us again. I personally wasn’t aware of this, and I love that I can save the bulbs and take them to a recycling location to give the materials a second life.
Next time you have a burnt out light bulb, be sure to take it to your closest recycling location too. You can find a full list of locations and more information regarding where to take your specific items at www.productcare.org/products/lights/.
You may think that one bulb doesn’t make a difference, but every single one counts. Teach your little ones about recycling responsibly and share with friends and family who may not know that lights are recyclable. Some bulbs even contain mercury, making it a top priority to keep them from entering our waterways, handled and recycled responsibly.
Product Care Recycling also recycles lights in other provinces including Manitoba, Quebec and PEI. If you live somewhere else in Canada be sure to check the website for a full list of accepted products in your province, as each province varies in what it does or does not accept. By recycling and caring for the environment, we can together make a big difference.
Disclosure: I have partnered with Product Care Recycling and have received compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.
7 Comments on “How To Recycle Light Bulbs in British Columbia”
I didn’t know you could take light fixtures! Cool!
I knew you could recycle them but never know where to actually take them! Saving that link for later
I had no idea this was even a thing! Duh! We have mostly all LED bulbs but the odd time we do have a regular one to replace… oven or chandelier. Although we just switched out all the chandelier bulbs so it won’t be an issue for a while. I’ll share this with F&F too, though. Thanks!
I actually had no idea that you could recycle light bulbs. I wonder if we can in Ontario.
Good to know – thanks!
I didn’t know you could recycle light bulbs. I’ve been leaving them in the box because I wasn’t sure what to do with them . I’ll have to look into it , hopefully we can recycle them in Ontario too.
I agree with the author that children should be taught from early childhood to waste recycling. In our city, you just have to go outside and look around and understand how so that we have not taught ourselves how to throw garbage normally, and not on the streets of cities. Of course, there are services for the collection and disposal of garbage, but it all starts small, not to mention big promotions.