Corporate Recycling Of Lamps & Light Bulbs

4ft lamps and recycling kit

Corporate Recycling of Universal Waste – BulbCycle

by Erin Wright
Wright Services, LLC

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Universal Waste is a category of hazardous waste materials that are :
• Generated in a wide variety of settings, not solely industrial
• Generated by a vast community
• Present in significant volumes in nonhazardous management systems.

This includes batteries, fluorescent lightbulbs, computers, ballasts, and much more.

The EPA has developed a set of streamlined universal waste regulations to “encourage resource conservation while ensuring adequate protection of human health and the environment, to improve implementation of the current Subtitle C hazardous waste regulatory program, [and] to provide incentives for individuals and organizations to collect the unregulated portions of these universal wastestreams and manage them using the same systems developed for the regulated portion, thus removing them from the municipal wastestream.” 1

Each state has the ability, and is encouraged by the federal government, to create their own set of standards to handle universal waste (with the exception of batteries due to the 1996 Battery Act). Most states simply adopted the 1995 universal waste rule. Furthermore, many states, including California, Colorado, Maine, and Virginia, built additional stipulations into their universal waste standards. A list of state standards can be found here.

Since businesses and other generators of universal waste are required by most states to dispose of these materials in a safe and proper manner, many corporations have opted to incorporate bulb disposal programs into their waste management solutions.

Thankfully, there are affordable options for business lamp disposal and recycling via bulk pickup of fluorescent bulb lamp programs such as BulbCycle. By utilizing BulbCycle’s innovative mail back kits, corporations are finding it easier than ever to comply with their state’s regulations.

More On Corporate Recycling Solutions

1. When a business is ready to create a business lamp disposal recycling program, all that is required is to create a free account at BulbCycle.com. On the website businesses can choose which containers will best serve their needs. Containers are available for fluorescent lamps, CFLs, ballasts, batteries, electronics, and thermostats.

2. Once the containers have been received a business can fill them up at their own pace. Each container is pre-printed with simple step-by-step instructions in both English and Spanish.

3. When a container is filled and sealed, the business can call the FedEx phone number that comes on each box to schedule a pre-paid pickup from their location. The filled container will be delivered for recycling to one of BulbCycle’s permitted facilities located within the United States.

With a 12-month window of time to fill each container, it’s now easier than ever for corporations to comply with state regulations requiring T8 fluorescent lamp disposal and T12 fluorescent lamp disposal, saving themselves both time and money.

BulbCycle’s pre-paid recycling program is for lamps/bulbs, exit signs, ballasts, batteries, electronics, and thermostats. Each kit’s price includes a container, all shipping costs to the recycling center, recycling costs, and a certificate of recycling. Companies should receive their container(s) within 3-8 business days or less once ordered. Businesses have one year to return the kit(s) to BulbCycle. Businesses who would like to pay by invoice with net payment terms and purchase orders, please ask a BulbCycle representative for vendor program forms.

You can learn more about New York and its regulations here: https://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/8787.html.

Place your order online at BulbCycle.com, or over the phone at 858-412-6536.

1. Introduction to Universal Waste. (05, September). Retrieved September 26, 2018, from https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/introduction_to_universal_waste.pdf