Universal waste rules

Updated regulations now require that all batteries delivered for recycling must either have their ends taped and/or placed in plastic bags. The Universal Waste Rule or UWR was designed to reduce the amount of hazardous waste items in the municipal solid waste stream, encourage the recycling and proper disposal of some common hazardous wastes, and reduce the regulatory burden on businesses that generate these wastes. The UWR established the guidelines for the following categories: Lamps, Batteries, Ballasts and mercury containing devices.

These guidelines cover:

  • Fluorescent lamps contain mercury, recycle them!
  • Types of lamps need to be recycled
  • Storage and handling requirements
  • Labeling
  • Managing broken lamps
  • Turn Key Reliable Recycling Services

Please fill out our e-scrap / drop-off form and bring it with you.

e-scrap / drop-off form

All mercury-containing lamps, regardless of the amount of mercury, should be handled as a hazardous (“universal”) waste and stored carefully to avoid breakage. Green tip or low-mercury fluorescent lighting still contain mercury (just less of it) and should NOT be placed in the trash.