Recycling lighting

You probably know the feeling of a lightbulb flickering for the last time, signalling to you that it’s time to rummage through your cupboards for a replacement.

What if instead of a chore, your old lighting represented an opportunity?

The opportunity to rid your junk drawer of lightbulbs that aren’t useful anymore, to reduce recyclable materials going to landfills, keep harmful chemicals out of the environment, and to reuse valuable parts in new lighting equipment.

Different types of lighting can be dropped off at locations across the province to be safely recycled.

After you drop off your used lighting, it will be shipped to specialized facilities where valuable materials like aluminum, copper, mercury and electronic components can be recovered and used in new lighting and electronics.

Lightbulbs that don’t contain any toxic elements like incandescent bulbs are crushed so the glass and metal parts can be separated and recycled.

What types of lighting can be recycled?

Examples of lighting that can be recycled in Ontario include:

  • Dimmable light bulbs
  • Fluorescent bulbs
  • Halogen bulb
  • Headlight bulbs
  • High intensity discharge (HID) lamps
  • Indicator lights
  • Incandescent bulbs
  • Light emitting diode (LED) bulbs
  • Mini and miniature bulbs
  • Motion activated bulbs
  • Tube lights
  • UV Lamps
  • Wi-⁠Fi light bulbs

Note: Lighting fixtures are not accepted for recycling.

Learn what other household materials can be recycled