What does federal law say about disposing CFLs?
Federal law classifies lamps that fail the “Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure” (TCLP) as “Universal Waste.” Lamps that fail this test must be specially handled and cannot be disposed along with ordinary garbage. The specific handling and disposal requirements are provided by the “Universal Waste” rule (UWR), which is much less stringent than the procedures applicable to full industrial hazardous wastes. The UWR is designed to control the management of widely prevalent, low-risk wastes and to facilitate recycling. It only applies to large generators of lamps, however, as households and “conditionally exempt small quantity generators” are exempt. Lamp manufacturers have produced a number of lamp types that pass the TCLP test and thus are not subject to UWR regulations when disposed, regardless of the source. Some still fail the test, however, and are therefore covered by Federal Law when disposed by large-scale hazardous waste generators, such as manufacturing plants or hospital
