So it’s time to dispose of your halogen light bulbs, right? But you are not sure about how or where to dispose of them? Don’t worry, you are in exactly the right place! Let’s take a look at how to go about properly disposing of halogen light bulbs!
As a general rule, halogen light bulbs can be disposed of safely in the household trash since they do not contain toxic materials. It is good to wrap them before throwing them in the trash in order to prevent them from shattering.
Keep reading till the end because I will be sharing with you everything you need to know on how to dispose of halogen bulbs the right way, plus some related topics. So without any further ado let’s get started!
Here’s How You Can Dispose of Halogen Light Bulbs:
1. Safely Remove The Halogen Light Bulbs From The Port
Halogen Light bulbs are usually more efficient than the other types of incandescent bulbs that are available. Also, they are generally cheaper than LED bulbs.
However, after all, they are also a type of light bulb and they will eventually burn out and thus you have to replace them.
So when you see that your halogen bulb has burned out and needs to be replaced first of all switch off the electricity that goes to the halogen light bulb. I know this is quite an obvious step but it is important as well.
Then you have to safely remove the halogen light bulb from its port where it is attached which may be on the top ceiling of your home or on the sidewall.
Here’s a video that will help you to understand how to remove the halogen light bulb:
Remember that if the halogen light bulb has just recently burned out then it can be risky and the glass can even break. So take precautions and be careful while removing the halogen light bulb.
2. If The Halogen Light Bulb Breaks Then Air Out the Room
Now although halogen light bulbs don’t contain any toxic materials, if it breaks then some harmful gases may get released. So to be on the safe side, it is advised that once your halogen light bulb breaks, keep people and pets away from the room and then allow for five to ten minutes to air it out.
In order to stop the vapor that gets released when the light bulb breaks, you can shut off the ventilation and air conditioning.
3. Wrap the Halogen Light Bulb Before Disposing
Halogen light bulbs are made from thicker glass as compared to incandescent bulbs. So in general, you can say that they won’t break easily.
But still, it is not a bad idea to wrap the halogen bulbs before you finally dispose of them. You can wrap up the halogen light bulbs in a newspaper. If you have just bought a new light bulb then you can also use its packaging to wrap up the old burned-out halogen light bulb.
Just by taking this extra step, you can prevent the bulb from breaking easily in the trash.
4. Don’t Add The Halogen Light Bulbs With Glass Recyclables
Halogen bulbs are made up of non-toxic materials and hence it won’t be any problem if you toss them (after wrapping properly) in the trash.
Now although they are made of glass, you shouldn’t recycle them with glass. The broken glass can injure the workers who do all the sanitation tasks.
The reason why the halogen light bulbs can’t be recycled with regular glass is simply that the fine wires in glass processing are not so easy to separate out.
In order to keep the halogen bulbs out of your landfill, you can also reach out to your local recycling centers and ask them if they have any special policy for collecting halogen light bulbs.
Now since you are about to dispose of the halogen light bulbs, it is also important to have some knowledge about what halogen bulbs actually are. Let’s talk about it in brief!
What Are Halogen Light Bulbs?
So halogen bulbs are simply a type of incandescent bulbs. However, they are more efficient and long-lasting than the conventional incandescents that we use.
Remember, that the halogen light bulbs, as well as incandescent bulbs, contain tungsten filaments.
Now as we use these bulbs to illuminate our places such as the yard or inside our home, a small amount of tungsten gets evaporated from the filament.
In the case of the conventional incandescent bulbs, the tungsten gets attached to the glass, and because of this, the lifespan of these types of bulbs is shorter. Moreover, the black soot-like coating that you notice in an old or burned-out light bulb is also because of this reason.
On the other hand, in the case of halogen light bulbs, the halogen inhibits the black coating by a chemical reaction with tungsten. As a result of this reaction, some of the tungsten gets reattached to the filament. Through this evaporation-reattachment cycle, the lifespan of the bulb also gets lengthened.
Are Halogen Lamps Hazardous Waste?
Usually, it is considered okay to throw away the halogen light bulbs in regular household garbage bins.
It was generally thought that the tungsten (that is present in the halogen light bulbs) is not a toxic substance so it is safe to dispose of them in landfills.
Even today, broadly this theory is believed and so you may not find any large-scale recycling programs regarding halogen bulbs.
You will notice that most organizations will simply tell you to throw the halogen bulbs in the trash. And so, most people also do the same things whenever they have to dispose of their halogen bulbs.
But as per cdc.gov, in a study of human cell cultures, it was found that exposing these cultures to a combination of other metals and tungsten results in some signs of the development of cancer.
So this makes it really questionable whether or not halogen lamps are completely non-hazardous or not.
Hence, to be safe it is best to recycle halogen light bulbs for keeping them out of the landfills.
Now although you may not find a local recycling program related to halogen bulb recycling, it is good to contact the respective local authorities to see whether or not they provide this kind of service.
Note that in the end, if you are not able to find any way to recycle your halogen light bulbs, then the only other option is to pack them properly and dispose of them in the trash.
Is It Bad to Break Halogen Light Bulbs?
Although halogen light bulbs don’t contain toxic materials, it is generally not good to break them.
The halogen light bulbs can be quite hot and can also result in a fire hazard. So if you find that your halogen light bulb has shattered while it was in use then you should take immediate action.
You can prepare a fire extinguisher and let all the pets and people leave that room.
The reason for this precautionary measure is that the glass fragments can be very hot and may result in a fire if it comes in contact with any flammable objects.
So if the glass has shattered then you should allow the glass fragments to cool for some time. And only then you should try cleaning it.
Halogen bulbs generally don’t contain mercury and are not hazardous in general. So you can sweep the glass fragments with your broom or a piece of paper and then dispose of them safely in your garbage.
Conclusion
In short, you can dispose of halogen light bulbs safely in the household trash. And although they aren’t that much toxic, to be on the safe side you can find some recycling programs that accept halogen light bulbs. But if you have no choice then you can safely wrap them and then just dispose of them in the trash.
That’s it! Hope this guide has helped you to learn and get the answers to all your questions related to disposing of the halogen light bulbs. Thanks!