How to Recycle LED Light Bulbs

Lighting options with extremely high energy economy include light-emitting diode (LED) light lights. Compared to traditional incandescent lighting, these lamps are up to 90% more effective at producing light.

Compact fluorescent light (CFL) lights can save you up to 70% more energy than conventional bulbs, but LEDs are even more energy-efficient. You won't likely need to think about replacing your LED light bulb for a very long time because LEDs last so long.

Recycling of LED Light Bulbs Planning
Before pulling the LED bulb from the socket, turn off the lamp or light.
To prevent breakage and to safeguard employees in the event that bulbs do break, some LED light bulb recycling drop-off sites may ask you to wrap each bulb individually in a plastic bag. This isn't always the case, though. Before delivering your LED bulbs for recycling, it is recommended to inquire about the recycler's criteria.
Remove the string lights from any exhibits if you plan to recycle them (for instance, a pine tree wire structure or wreath).

Reasons to recycle LED light bulbs
LED lights are made of recyclable glass and aluminum. To preserve Earth's resources and to lessen unnecessary pollution, it is best practice to reuse and recover these limited, non-renewable resources as much as we can. This also applies to glass and metal products.

GreenTech Solutions claims that 95% of an LED light can be recovered. However, not every plant recycles every component. Some institutions may find it expense prohibitive to separate the materials, and not all of them are set up to handle the bulbs.

Where LED Light Bulbs Can Be Recycled
You might be able to recycle your used LED light bulbs in-store at big-box retailers like Lowe's, Home Depot, and IKEA. For more information, get in touch with your neighborhood retailer.
On particular days or in predetermined places, many local safety offices provide both LED and CFL recycling. Consult your region.
Old LED lights are accepted at most Batteries Plus locations for a charge, as well as in some supply shops. For more information, get in touch with your neighborhood retailer.
For a charge, NLR, LampMaster, Republic Services, and Veolia all offer mail-in disposal programs if you can't locate one in your area.
Another option for recycling LED holiday string lights is to send them to HolidayLEDs, Environmental LED, or Christmas Light Supply.

Concerns About Recycling LED Light Bulbs
Is it possible to discard LED lights in the curbside bin?
Although recycling LED bulbs at the curb is rare, your neighborhood might have a drop-off spot. Consult your neighborhood solid refuse district or town.

How are repurposed LED lights made?
To separate the components, LED lights are first put through a shredder. Depending on the recycler, these fragments are then passed through dividers. To separate glass, plastic, and metal, some people use an eddy current sorter, while others use a photopic divider. In some cases, removing metal involves using a magnet.

Since the metal parts of LED lights are the most expensive, they are also the most likely to be recycled. The most recoverable materials are copper and aluminum in particular. LED string lights have even more copper than LED lamps used in light fixtures because copper is present in the cables connecting the LEDs.

In order to reclaim the metals, circuit boards are sent to a refinery. Metals like gold, aluminum, copper, and nickel are removed from ores at smelters either through chemical or thermal extraction.

The interior of LED lights that change color are frequently coated with a substance made of hefty rare earth metals. Currently, there isn't enough of these metals to reclaim it, but that will probably alter in the future. As LED recycling develops, more elements might one day be reusable.

Like CFL lights, are LED light bulbs considered household hazardous waste (HHW)?
No. A LED is not HHW. They should not be confused with CFL lamps, which must be disposed of as HHW because they contain mercury and argon.

Is it illegal to dispose of LED light bulbs?
It is not illegal to discard of LEDs in landfills in the United States. They can theoretically be disposed of with your garbage because they are not regarded as hazardous debris.

Light recycling is required in Europe. In the upcoming years, we might anticipate mandatory LED recycling in the United States.

Are LED lights categorized as universal refuse or e-waste?
Electronic circuitry (circuit boards) in LED lights is typically comparable to that in laptops and other devices. E-waste recyclers can frequently recover these components (sometimes call universal waste).