Fluorescent tubes, CFLs and other mercury lamps (also LED lamps from a business)
New York City · checked on November 6, 2026
The rules for a business
The rules for a business:
- Fluorescent lamps are often hazardous waste because of mercury, and LEDs can be because of lead solder.
- “Generators of hazardous waste lamps may choose between handling their lamps under the traditional hazardous waste regulations (aka RCRA regulations) or as universal wastes.” — Hazardous Waste Lamps — NYS DEC
- “Lamps being managed under the Universal Waste Rule cannot be crushed .” — Hazardous Waste Lamps — NYS DEC
- The trash exemption is for households only.
- Some electrical distributors take back spent lamps when you buy new ones; ask them to handle the lamps as universal waste.
- DSNY's 'CFLs can go in the trash' is advice for residents.
Not for contractors: household-only routes, never a place to take a job's waste.
- “NOTE: These events are for NYC residents ONLY. NO businesses or commercial vehicles.” — Special Waste Drop-Off — DSNY. The places: DSNY Special Waste Drop-Off — Bronx, Hunts Point; DSNY Special Waste Drop-Off — Brooklyn, Greenpoint; DSNY Special Waste Drop-Off — Manhattan, Lower East Side/Two Bridges; DSNY Special Waste Drop-Off — Queens, College Point; DSNY Special Waste Drop-Off — Staten Island, Fresh Kills
- DSNY SAFE Disposal Events: residents only, no businesses or commercial vehicles. “NOTE: These events are for NYC residents ONLY. NO businesses or commercial vehicles.” — SAFE Disposal Events — DSNY. The place: DSNY SAFE Disposal Events (five boroughs, yearly)
- 'Lamps can go in the trash': the household exemption, not for businesses. “Households are exempt from the ordinary hazardous waste regulations, so there are no legal requirements for the management of hazardous waste lamps by households.” — Hazardous Waste Lamps — NYS DEC
Not settled by the official pages:
- Big-box stores' lamp take-back: no official source says whether they take tubes from contractors.
- Old fluorescent ballasts, made before 1979, can contain PCBs; that was not researched here.
The official words on it (15 quotes)
- “Fluorescent lamps are often hazardous wastes due to their mercury content and LED light bulbs may be hazardous waste due to the lead solder used in their circuit boards.” — Hazardous Waste Lamps — NYS DEC, no date on the page
- “Generators of hazardous waste lamps may choose between handling their lamps under the traditional hazardous waste regulations (aka RCRA regulations) or as universal wastes.” — Hazardous Waste Lamps — NYS DEC, no date on the page
- “Lamps being managed under the Universal Waste Rule cannot be crushed .” — Hazardous Waste Lamps — NYS DEC, no date on the page
- “Households are exempt from the ordinary hazardous waste regulations, so there are no legal requirements for the management of hazardous waste lamps by households.” — Hazardous Waste Lamps — NYS DEC, no date on the page
- “Some electrical distributors/retailers provide waste management services, offering a convenient, one-stop shopping arrangement for lamp purchasing and spent lamp management.” — Hazardous Waste Lamps — NYS DEC, no date on the page
- “While you can put these bulbs in the trash, you can also bring them to a DSNY Special Waste Drop-Off Site or SAFE Disposal Event .” — Light Bulbs — DSNY, no date on the page
- “NOTE: These events are for NYC residents ONLY. NO businesses or commercial vehicles.” — Special Waste Drop-Off — DSNY, no date on the page
- “NOTE: These events are for NYC residents ONLY. NO businesses or commercial vehicles.” — SAFE Disposal Events — DSNY, no date on the page
Places that take it from a business (2)
Call ahead before you go: what each place takes, from whom and when can change.
Across the city (2)
For every place below: from a business: Depends · checked on: November 6, 2026 · call ahead.
- Your electrical distributor (lamp take-back service) · Only distributors that offer it; DEC says to ask and to make sure the lamps are handled as universal waste. · source: Hazardous Waste Lamps — NYS DEC · “Some electrical distributors/retailers provide waste management services, offering a convenient, one-stop shopping arrangement for lamp purchasing and spent lamp management.”
- NYS DEC list of fluorescent lamp recyclers · Businesses that recycle lamps. · source: Fluorescent Lamp Recyclers — NYS DEC · “The following is a list of fluorescent lamp recyclers that New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) maintains for the purpose of public education.”
Confirm with each place before you go: call ahead.
Sources
Every page quoted (5 pages)
- Hazardous Waste Lamps — NYS DEC — no date on the page; checked on November 6, 2026
- Light Bulbs — DSNY — no date on the page; checked on November 6, 2026
- Special Waste Drop-Off — DSNY — no date on the page; checked on November 6, 2026
- SAFE Disposal Events — DSNY — no date on the page; checked on November 6, 2026
- Fluorescent Lamp Recyclers — NYS DEC — no date on the page; checked on November 6, 2026
This is a plain-words summary of official city and state pages as of November 6, 2026, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and have exceptions: confirm with the departments named on this card before you start or bill.