Light Tubes
We offer light tube pickup as an add-on to any regularly scheduled pickup.
Why use Ridwell?
When you give your fluorescent and LED light tubes to Ridwell, we do the heavy lifting. These long, cumbersome CFLs contain mercury gas, and electronic elements, making them hard to transport and dispose of safely. We’ll make sure they get to our partner and get properly recycled.
How it works
1
Add fluorescent and LED light tubes onto your pickup
When you opt-in to your pickup, add light tubes. You can find it under the add-ons section for $4/tube.
2
Let us know what you have for us
Select the number of tubes you have for pickup.
3
Prep your lights for pickup
Please make sure tubes are visible for our driver next to your bin.
4
We pick up your lights!
We’ll safely transport your light tubes to our partners so that they can be responsibly recycled.
What items can we take?
We can take fluorescent and LED light tubes in any shape
Fluorescent light tubes
Fluorescent light circles
Fluorescent U-shaped tubes
Integrated LED tubes
LED light circles
LED U-shaped tubes
What isn’t in this category?
Other light bulbs
Place these in your light bulbs bag for pickup!
Broken light bulbs
For our team members' safety, we can't accept broken light bulbs
Light Tubes.
Fluorescent and LED light tubes are oversized, making responsible disposal difficult. While there are state programs to help you dispose of them, we can help make it easier.
Ridwell will pick them up and transport them to our partners, who ensure that the mercury gets handled safely and the metal and plastic are recycled. That’s one less chore for you!
Partnering with Lighting Resources
Lighting Resources processes (de-manufactures) spent lamps of all kinds including HID, fluorescent, CFL, and incandescent lamps to name a few. Their Balcan MP8000 lamp recycling machine can process up to 5000 fluorescent linear lamps in a single hour as well as handle 55 gal drums of crushed glass or mixed, broken, and unbroken bulbs. The Balcan separates the phosphor powder, which contains the toxic mercury, from the glass and aluminum end-caps which allows for the refining of these materials back into the marketplace as recycled products. The MP8000 is unmatched in the industry and represents the finest in lamp recycling.
FAQ
How much does it cost?
We offer light tube pickup for $4 per tube. This is based on the cost of logistics to transport bulbs in a way that is safe for our drivers, and to cover the cost of recycling with our partner. Thanks for wasting less!
What’s EcoLights recycling process?
The lights will be responsibly crushed and the glass, metal, and plastic parts separated for further recycling. Mercury gas is handled following all safety protocols.
How do I package tubes for pickup?
If you only have a couple of light tubes, we recommend leaving them unboxed and putting them (gently) by your Ridwell bin. If you have them in a box, please make sure it is packaged securely.
What about broken light tubes?
Unfortunately, we can't take broken tubes due to safety concerns for our drivers.
How many can you take at a time?
We have a general limit of 10 tubes. For more than 10 tubes, please send us a quick heads-up message at help@ridwell.com so we make sure everything gets picked up.
How long can the tubes be?
We can take tubes up to 8ft long.
Are there free options?
Residents can drop off their fluorescent and LED light tubes at several locations.
Join the movement to build a future without waste.
