Lamp recycling information for Vermont.
This page covers lamp recycling rules for Vermont, not confirmed service availability. Send your ZIP and counts; any pickup or mail-back option will be confirmed in a written quote.
- Fluorescent, CFL and HID
- Ballasts and batteries
- Availability checked by ZIP
- A record for every job
How Vermont treats spent lamps.
Each row comes from a Vermont agency, statute or EPA page we read. Where a row is missing, we could not verify it, and the federal baseline applies until the state says more.
| Topic | What applies | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Business lamps | No mercury-containing bulb may be trashed in Vermont; small businesses and institutions can recycle certain bulbs free at municipal and retail collection sites. | Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Mercury-Containing Light Bulbs Must... |
| Household lamps | Vermont households may not put any mercury-containing bulb in the trash; they can recycle bulbs free through the state's manufacturer-funded lamp program. | Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Mercury-Containing Light Bulbs Must... |
| Crushing lamps | Intentional crushing of mercury lamps is banned for universal waste handlers; drum-top crushing counts as treatment requiring certification under subchapter 5. | Vermont DEC, Vermont Hazardous Waste Management Regulations, Subchapter 9: Universal... |
| New lamp sales | Sale of four-foot general purpose linear fluorescent tubes is banned from January 1, 2024. Screw-base CFLs were restricted from February 17, 2023 and GU-24 CFLs from January 1, 2024. | Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Mercury-Containing Light Bulbs Must... |
| Batteries | Vermont's Primary Battery Stewardship Law (Act 139) bars producers from selling primary batteries unless they join an approved plan providing free collection and recycling. | Vermont DEC, Single-Use and Rechargeable Batteries |
| State program | Vermont Lamp Law manufacturer-funded collection program: Free collection of general purpose mercury bulbs at municipal and retail sites: unlimited CFLs, up to 10 tubes, HID and mercury vapor bulbs per visit. | Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Mercury-Containing Light Bulbs Must... |
| Universal waste | EPA's state table lists lamps in Vermont's universal waste program, citing SUBCHAPTER 9; Section 7-910. | EPA, Universal Waste Programs in the United States |
| Federal baseline | Under federal rules, business lamps can be managed as universal waste under 40 CFR Part 273. That means closed containers that prevent breakage, a label, and no more than one year in storage. | 40 CFR Part 273 |
| Regulator | Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). | Vermont DEC, Vermont Hazardous Waste Management Regulations, Subchapter 9: Universal... |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Read from the sources named, October 3, 2026. Rows appear only where a source was verified. Federal rules shown where noted. States can be stricter. Not legal advice.
Vermont city pages.
Each city page carries the Vermont rules above, nearby cities and any local programs we verified. Send your ZIP code with the form for a written quote.
Sale of four-foot general purpose linear fluorescent tubes is banned from January 1, 2024. Screw-base CFLs were restricted from February 17, 2023 and GU-24 CFLs from January 1, 2024.
A sales ban stops new lamps from being sold. The lamps already in your fixtures still need recycling when they come out. Source: Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Mercury-Containing Light Bulbs Must....
What Vermont facilities teams ask.
Can a business in Vermont put fluorescent tubes in the trash?
No mercury-containing bulb may be trashed in Vermont; small businesses and institutions can recycle certain bulbs free at municipal and retail collection sites. Send counts from your Vermont site and we reply with a written quote.
Can lamps be crushed in Vermont?
Intentional crushing of mercury lamps is banned for universal waste handlers; drum-top crushing counts as treatment requiring certification under subchapter 5. Whole lamps are the simpler path: they ship as universal waste and keep their mercury inside until the recycler captures it.
Is Vermont banning fluorescent tubes?
Sale of four-foot general purpose linear fluorescent tubes is banned from January 1, 2024. Screw-base CFLs were restricted from February 17, 2023 and GU-24 CFLs from January 1, 2024. When new tubes get hard to buy, fixtures tend to convert to LED and the old lamps, ballasts and batteries all come out at once.
Can you collect from a Vermont site?
Send your ZIP code and rough counts with the form. We check whether pickup or mail-back is available there before quoting. A city page is not a service guarantee. Every completed job ends with a recycling record.
What should households in Vermont do with old lamps?
Vermont households may not put any mercury-containing bulb in the trash; they can recycle bulbs free through the state's manufacturer-funded lamp program. We serve businesses, property managers and contractors rather than households, so home lamps are best taken to a local collection program.
Does Vermont have a battery recycling law?
Vermont's Primary Battery Stewardship Law (Act 139) bars producers from selling primary batteries unless they join an approved plan providing free collection and recycling. For lithium batteries, EPA asks that each one be bagged on its own or have its terminals taped before it ships.
Federal rules shown where noted. States can be stricter. Not legal advice.
Related pages.
Lamps waiting at a Vermont site?
Send rough counts and your ZIP. The written quote will confirm whether pickup or mail-back is available for that location.