Fluorescent Light Tube Recycling and Disposal

Pure Planet Recycling offer professional fluorescent light tube recycling services that ensure your old tubes are disposed of safely, legally, and in an eco-friendly manner.

Whether you are recycling small amounts or upgrading your whole lighting system, we can help. As an Authorised Treatment Facility and registered waste carrier, we provide a compliant service. Our staff and fleet of vehicles manage our lamp disposal collections. This allows us to give short lead times and cost-effective collections.

Why Fluorescent Light Tube Recycling is Essential

Even with the advent of LED Lighting, Fluorescent light tubes are still widely used in offices, warehouses and schools. However, when these tubes reach the end of their life, they require specialised recycling.

Fluorescent tubes contain small amounts of mercury, a toxic substance that can harm the environment if not correctly handled. Simply throwing these tubes in your general waste can lead to contamination of harmful substances. By choosing to recycle your fluorescent tubes with Pure Planet Recycling, you are taking an important step towards reducing environmental harm and promoting a sustainable future.

Our recycling process ensures that all hazardous materials are carefully extracted and handled according to UK waste management regulations, preventing potential health risks to humans and wildlife. You receive a Hazardous Waste Consignment note for your disposal, giving you an auditable trace of where your waste goes.

Our fluorescent light tube recycling service is easy and works in the following way;

Step 1

Call or email us listing the amount and type of bulbs or light tubes you have for recycling. A photo at this stage can help us see the volume of waste.

STEP 2

We then provide a quotation for the transportation and recycling.

STEP 3

Once accepted, a collection is arranged using our own secure transportation and staff.

STEP 4

We arrive, load the light tubes or bulbs and provide a Hazardous Waste Consignment note for your records.

STEP 5

Our vehicles transport the waste light tubes back to our Authorised Treatment Facility in Bedfordshire.

STEP 6

We sort, weigh and provide a recycling certificate for the waste.

What Types of Fluorescent Tubes Do We Recycle?

We accept a wide range of fluorescent light tubes for recycling, including:

Straight fluorescent tubes
Circular fluorescent tubes
Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs)
UV tubes

No matter the type or quantity of fluorescent tubes, we provide a recycling solution that fits your needs.

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How Is A Fluorescent Tube Recycled ?

Light tubes/bulbs contain good reusable materials, but they also contain hazardous components. The typical makeup of a fluorescent light tube is 94% Glass, 4% metals, and 2% Phosphor (containing mercury). Therefore, the recycling process must separate the glass and metals whilst removing the mercury. This process sounds simple but requires a recycling machine designed for the task.

The first stage is to collect the light tubes. This can be either as whole units or to crush them first. Moving complete light tubes means you can fit less onto a vehicle but crushing them first is time consuming, requires electricity and can be messy on-site. We prefer to ship light tubes in bulk as whole units to minimise the risk of spillage.

Once at the recycling facility the tubes are broken down in an airtight machine. The equipment automatically segregates the metal and glass for reuse. The hazardous phosphor powder is extracted and filtered. Now with all the materials segregated they are a commodity and be used back in the manufacturing chain. New light tubes make use of the mercury captured during recycling. Using recycled materials reduces the need for virgin materials. Most lamp recycling facilities operate at around 98% recycling rates.

You can find further information on fluorescent light tubes here. Alternatively give us a call on 01234 315496 if you have any questions?

We also provide storage containers for old tubes and bulbs. These containers reduce the risk of breakage and keep your work place tidy. If you need further advice, please see our blog post on waste light tube storage