The Department has not issued specific advice to local authorities about the disposal of low energy light bulbs. The responsibilities of local authorities and producers are set out in a statutory code of practice.
Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs—the most common type of energy efficient bulbs) are covered by the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive. All local authorities in England are providing designated collection facilities for WEEE. Information about which sites take back CFLs (and other types of WEEE) is available on the recycle-more website at:
www.recycle-more.co.uk
Retailers that have joined a scheme to take back electrical and electronic equipment are funding the upgrade of local authority sites. Once CFLs have been collected, producers of the equipment have responsibility to fund treatment and recycling.
The Department has published background information on CFLs—their benefits in terms of energy efficiency as well as advice on their disposal at the end of their lives. This can be found on the DEFRA website at:
www.defra.gov.uk