Incandescent light bulbs have been terribly inefficient from the beginning — with an average lifespan of only 1,200 hours, their filaments burn out quickly and leave behind entirely worthless glass shells.
With a typical usage of 3 hours each day, an incandescent bulb may only last about 8 months before it burns out and must be thrown away. Studies show that the American home has an average of 45 light bulbs each, and as of 2015, the US Bureau of Consensus shows America has 124.6 million homes.
That means Americans are sending to landfills 5,607,000,000 incandescent light bulbs every 8 months!
Investing in LED lights for your home and office truly shows environmental responsibility– not only with less energy being consumed with the very use of an LED bulb but with fewer light bulbs making their way to landfills, making our environmental footprint is significantly lighter!
Euri Lighting LED bulbs have a lifespan of 25,000 – 50,000 hours– over 20 years! And while you may not be looking to recycle those bulbs in the near future, here are the necessary steps to keeping your LED bulb energy efficient and eco-friendly long after it has gone dark:
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Wrap the burnt-out LED bulb in a plastic bag, original packaging, or some other box to keep any potential broken glass shards from hurting anyone.
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LED bulbs do not contain dangerous toxic metals, so if you want to throw away your burnt-out LED bulb in the household trash, you can! However, any time you can avoid adding to the world’s landfills by recycling materials instead, you should. There are several options for recycling your LED bulb:
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Your local recycling center, or e-waste recycling center, should accept your old LED bulbs, as many of the metals they incorporate are reusable.
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Online recycling programs exist as well, and many of them offer recycling free of charge.
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Large retail distributors often have a recycling program in place, and one of our partnered retail outlets will accept your burnt-out Euri Lighting LED bulb free of charge! The Home Depot has fully implemented a responsible recycling program for its customers, allowing them to drop off light bulbs and batteries for their ultimate convenience! Visit The Home Depot Eco Options to see how much The Home Depot has reduced their environmental footprint through their green programs.
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Upcycle! Donate your bulbs to local artists or look to your Pinterest boards for inspiration on crafting your own DIY upcycling projects!
The National Geographic website offers a fun Light Bulb Savings Calculator that shows you just how much energy you are using (and saving) when you use energy efficient LED bulbs over CFL or incandescent. Be sure to check it out!
Author: Hannah Rothblatt
