T5 bulb disposal?

[reefsahoy]

Seeing that the hobby consumes t5 bulbs at a rapid pace even before actual "failure", how do you guys dispose of the bulbs? Do you guys know if some other hobby can put to use those consumed bulbs instead of simply dumping them?

 

[BryanS4]

I take mine to the dump.

 

[reefsahoy]

Anyone know if they can be recycled?

 

[OllieNZ]

Anyone know if they can be recycled?

My local dump has a special bin for recycling tubes,
Or maybe contact the manufacturer?

 

[phenom5]

I've heard that Home Depot collects them so they can be disposed of properly. Last time I went I asked about it, and they looked at me like I was from another planet.

No reason you couldn't install fixtures in your garage (as an example) that use the same bulbs as your tank. You could get a fair amount of use out of them after they are done on your tank, but the color spectrum would be odd for your garage.

 

[OllieNZ]

Some basic background on the matter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamp_recycling

 

[windlasher]

I've heard that Home Depot collects them so they can be disposed of properly. Last time I went I asked about it, and they looked at me like I was from another planet.

No reason you couldn't install fixtures in your garage (as an example) that use the same bulbs as your tank. You could get a fair amount of use out of them after they are done on your tank, but the color spectrum would be odd for your garage.

Home Depot will dispose of limited regular bulbs for consumers. There is a bin at the front of the store. They stopped offering to dispose of longer tubes because Cheap business owners and contractors would try and dump off hundreds of them to avoid paying to dispose of them themselves. Once in a while if you are nice an employee will dispose of one or two for you but don't be surprised if they say no.