Lamps, ballasts and batteries
We collect fluorescent, CFL and HID lamps, ballasts and batteries. One request can cover the whole load from a retrofit or a storage room.
About Lamp Recycler
A recycler built for the last fluorescent tubes.
US shipments of new linear fluorescent tubes fell from about 400 million in 2015 to about 60 million in 2022. Ten states have passed laws ending their sale. The tubes still in ceilings have to come out, and they have to be recycled properly.
Why we exist
Three changes, one gap.
The sales bans
Vermont stopped sales of 4 ft linear tubes in 2024. California, Colorado, Oregon and Rhode Island followed in 2025, then Hawaii, Maine and Minnesota in 2026. Illinois follows on January 1, 2027, and Washington in 2029.
None of these laws makes anyone pull a working lamp. They stop new sales. So each tube that fails becomes a reason to convert the fixture to LED, and the old lamp becomes waste.
The retrofit wave
When replacement tubes get scarce, a building that swapped lamps one at a time may convert a whole floor at once. A working ceiling becomes boxes of lamps and ballasts.
ALMR is the trade group for lamp recyclers. It says the most significant lamp and ballast enforcement actions "have involved lighting retrofits." The risk sits where the volume is.
Demolition adds to the load. EPA guidance says lamps from a demolition "should be isolated, labeled, and taken to a mercury recycler or consolidation site."
The paperwork gap
The rules for a spent tube are specific. Federal universal waste rules allow up to one year of storage. Containers must be closed and labeled with set wording (40 CFR 273.13 to 273.15).
Older ballasts may contain PCBs and follow a different law, 40 CFR 761. Batteries count toward the same 5,000 kg universal waste threshold as lamps (40 CFR 273.9). Some utility rebate programs ask for proof of disposal before they pay.
A building needs a recycler who keeps those streams apart and closes each job with a record. That is the gap we set out to fill.
What we will not claim
We are a new company, and we only publish what we can stand behind. You will not find reviews, client logos, years in business or recycling slogans we cannot prove.
We will not tell you a pickup makes you compliant either. ALMR says "regulatory compliance remains the responsibility of the owner of the lamps." Our job is to make that easier to show.
Sources: state statutes and ECmag, August 2024. ALMR, Message for Contractors and owner message. EPA, Light Systems and Demolition. 40 CFR Parts 273 and 761. EWEB, Columbia MO and Concord MA lighting program terms. Federal rules shown. States can be stricter. Not legal advice.
How we work
Six commitments, in plain words.
These are the commitments we work by. Each one is something you can check on your own job.
Pickup or mail-back
Scheduled pickup or a mail-back box, whichever fits your volume. When a crew is on site, we schedule pickup around your job.
Older ballasts kept apart
We keep pre-1979 and unlabeled ballasts apart from the rest of the load, because EPA says those may contain PCBs.
Sent to a permitted recycler
Lamps are sent to a permitted recycler. EPA notes that the glass, metal end caps and phosphor powder can all be separated and recycled.
A certificate for every job
A certificate of recycling for every job, for your files, your building owner or your rebate program. ALMR notes it can be passed along to the owner.
Written quotes only
Nothing on this site is a Lamp Recycler price. Send rough counts and we reply with a written quote for your volume and streams.
Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers, Message for ContractorsThe lamp recyclers' trade group "estimates there are about 500 million lamps per year that are not being recycled."
What we recycle
Four ways to clear the storage room.
Each stream has its own rules, so each has its own page. Start with the one piling up fastest.
01 / Lamps
Lamp recycling
Straight tubes, U-bends, CFLs and HID lamps, kept whole and sent to a permitted recycler.
Lamp recycling 02 / BallastsBallast recycling
Magnetic and electronic ballasts, with pre-1979 and unlabeled units kept apart from the rest.
Ballast recycling 03 / BatteriesBattery recycling
Batteries that come out with the fixtures or pile up in a facility, packed by type.
Battery recycling 04 / Mail-backMail-back boxes
For smaller batches: fill the box, seal it and ship it, with no truck to schedule.
Mail-back boxes
About us, briefly
Questions about the company.
Is Lamp Recycler a new company?
Yes. That is why this page has no testimonials, client logos or years-in-business figures. We would rather show you why the business exists and the commitments we work by. Real numbers will appear only once they exist and the people behind them agree to share them.
Who do you work with?
Property managers, facilities teams, and contractors on retrofit, construction and demolition jobs. The waste is the same in each setting. It might be a storage room that fills slowly, a retrofit that fills fast, or a demolition crew isolating lamps first.
Where do the lamps go?
They are sent to a permitted recycler, whole, since EPA says fluorescent lamps should not be crushed. There, EPA notes, recovered mercury goes into new lamps, metal is sold as scrap and glass is remanufactured. Ballasts and batteries travel as their own streams, because different rules cover each one.
Why don't you list prices or a service area?
Because we publish only what we can confirm. Prices and coverage come in a written quote based on your counts and ZIP code. ALMR advises asking any recycler for references and compliance histories. That is good advice for choosing anyone, and we would expect you to ask us.
Have lamps, ballasts or batteries to move?
Rough counts are enough to start. We reply with a written quote and a plan for pickup or mail-back.