What is the value of used 'light bulbs'.. standards, flor' & 'green'...?
Is there any real value there (raw materials, fixtures & so on)?
Obviously I can google this, but I am looking for those who HAVE googled & researched this kind of question..
(Advanced) thanks.
K (antiparanoid)
I meant fluor'... for fluorescent
Vincent G
Favorite Answer
You mean for recycling?
Well, the problem with light bulbs is that they are made with lots of different material, the most valuable ones -- the tungsten filament, for instance -- being hard to recover as the reason for the bulb failure is usually due to that component being broken (and thus hard to scavenge).
Essentially, recovering the components of a light bulb is more expensive that making one from raw material.
Evidently, this will have to change at some point, if only to keep the small drop of toxic mercury inside fluorescent lamps from eventually finding its way in the environment. The problem here is strictly a question of cost: no one will want to finance it initially.
Lane
I've worked with construction demo folks and they sell the fixtures (for scrap in some cases) but no effort is made to preserve the bulbs.
Fluorescent lights generally last around 8 years in a standard commercial application, so saving the used bulbs isn't necessarily a dumb idea. I doubt you could re-sale them though.
Also, older flourescent bulbs contain higher levels of Mercury, and are no longer used in modern facilities. don't think its a code violation to use them, but be careful how you dispose of them, because Mercury is a hazardous waste product.
the bulbs aren't worth it to sell for the small amount of aluminum on the end terminals.