what to do with old bulbs and office water changes?

[JN Reef]

Okay, two questions in one post...
How do you dispose of your old 4ft long light bulbs? Are they thrown in the trash can? Or disposed of some other way?

If anyone keeps a large tank in their office, like 100 gallon plus, where do you dump the water during water changes? Down the toilet?

 

[Konadog]

JN Reef,

Please don't throw your florescent tubes in the trash, they contain mercury! The proper way to dispose of them is to turn them in to a hazardous wast disposal site. Check in your city as they may have a permanent site that you can take them to. If not, most cities have a clean up every few months. The best part is that they are free.

As for old salt water, down the toilet it is.

 

[xtm]

I take old flourescent bulbs, used batteries along with soda cans to my local recycling center. They also take old computers and cellphones.

 

[GTR]

Rant.... So we'll all be forced to use PC bulbs instead of incandescent. Then we'll be forced to pay extra to dispose of them since it's hazardous waste. Even if it's free to dispose of them any energy savings will be lost driving to the "Free" disposal site 10 miles away using 2 gallons of $3.25/g diesel. This is like the three trips the trash company makes every week to my house to pick up the trash/recycle/greenwaste cans. Toxic fumes pouring out of the truck 3 times every Tuesday as they pull away leaving a puddle AND trail of hydraulic fluid each time to be washed down the gutter and into the storm drains and sent off on it's way to the Santa Ana River.


End rant.

SteveU

 

[gcarroll]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9831549#post9831549 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gtrestoration
Even if it's free to dispose of them any energy savings will be lost driving to the "Free" disposal site 10 miles away using 2 gallons of $3.25/g diesel.

If you didn't drag that trailer around with you everywhere you go you'd get more than 10 mpg.

 

[Konadog]

But Greg, how would he carry extra diesel in if he didn't pull that trailer.

Here in LB they have a hazardous waste clean up every 6 months that is free. It takes about 30 min to drive there, wait in line, drop everything off and get home. The get all my old bulbs, batteries, paint, cleaning chemicals, and TV's that have been in my garage for years!

With the new law coming up about using PC bulbs, they want to make anyplace that sells them a collection point also. Kinda like they do with oil.

 

[JE]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9831549#post9831549 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gtrestoration
Rant.... So we'll all be forced to use PC bulbs instead of incandescent. Then we'll be forced to pay extra to dispose of them since it's hazardous waste. Even if it's free to dispose of them any energy savings will be lost driving to the "Free" disposal site 10 miles away using 2 gallons of $3.25/g diesel. This is like the three trips the trash company makes every week to my house to pick up the trash/recycle/greenwaste cans. Toxic fumes pouring out of the truck 3 times every Tuesday as they pull away leaving a puddle AND trail of hydraulic fluid each time to be washed down the gutter and into the storm drains and sent off on it's way to the Santa Ana River.


End rant.

SteveU

One of my family owned business' is a trash company. Please dont generalize all of us. I take pride in managing 1 city (thats right its a small business) in keeping our trucks safe and clean. Not to mention keeping customers and the city happy. We are on the top of recycling in southern california by diverting 46% of trash into recycling in the city that we haul in. Most companies barely divert 20%. If you want to save the earth then we need to recycle. If you have a better way of doing it....then maybe you should come up with a solution. As far as I am concerned there are hundreds of companies that do it this way. If therre was a better way it would be done. We also have a "free clean-up" 4 times a year for hazardous waste, computers, tvs, etc. IT IS FREE TO PROMOTE RECYCLING. This is one way to teach people how to dispose of properly certainitems.

As far as toxic fumes.....do you drive a car? If so you also "pour out toxic fumes" into the air. Maybe not as much but you are part of the problem. The EPA is doing everything do promote safer burning engines. And we are right there with them trying to afford these and help keep our cities and air clean. NONE of my trucks leave hydraulic fluid. If we ever have a hose or cylinder fail, we have a clean-up crew that will be on site immediately. If the company in your area is leaking the report them.

John

 

[JE]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9831788#post9831788 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Konadog
With the new law coming up about using PC bulbs, they want to make anyplace that sells them a collection point also. Kinda like they do with oil.

This is true.