UW-01
Lamp Recycling
Fluorescent, U-shaped, CFL, mercury vapor, metal halide, HID, halogen and flood lamps, intact or pre-crushed.
Which lamps we take, and what the EPA permit covers
The list is long on purpose. We accept straight fluorescent tubes, u-shaped tubes, mercury vapor, metal halide, arc, compact fluorescent, flood lamps, incandescent, halogen and HID lamps. If a building in Houston has it overhead, in a warehouse bay or in a parking lot pole, it is almost certainly on that list.
Our facility is permitted by the EPA to accept intact and pre-crushed lamps of all types and sizes. That matters on the dock. You do not have to sort a mixed pile into piles by lamp family before we arrive, and you do not have to turn away a customer's odd lot because it does not fit a narrow category.
If you are not sure whether something belongs in the pile, ask. Call 713-360-7310 and describe the lamp, the base and where it came from, and we will tell you before the truck is scheduled.
Technical plate of the lamp types U-WRS accepts: straight, u-shaped, compact fluorescent, mercury vapor, metal halide and flood lamps
Why lamps are collected apart from the trash, and how to box them
All fluorescent and HID lamps contain small amounts of mercury. A single tube is a small thing, but a maintenance closet after a relamping project is not. Breakage is what turns a tidy stack into a cleanup, and breakage mostly happens between the ladder and the loading dock.
The practical habit is simple. Keep spent tubes in the cartons the new ones came in, lay them flat and tape the ends so they cannot slide. Do not stack heavy boxes on top, and keep u-shaped and compact fluorescent lamps in their own box so a long tube cannot snap them. Label the box with what is inside and the date it was filled.
A lamp that arrives whole is the easiest lamp for everyone downstream to handle. When something does break, sweep it into a sealed container, tell our driver, and we will advise on how to stage it. Do not guess on a spill; call us first.
What happens after pickup at Hempstead Road
Our own vehicles collect from your site, in most cases within 48 hours of the request. The material comes back to our storage at 14730 Hempstead Road in Houston, where containers are inventoried before they go anywhere else.
From there the lamps are stored and staged, then shipped to a downstream facility for processing. Super Universal Waste LLC is a TCEQ-permitted Large Quantity Handler of Universal Waste, for one year of UW Storage, and every container is tracked from the day it arrives until it ships to a permitted, State approved recycler.
You can also bring lamps to us. Our hours are Monday to Friday, 8 to 4. If you want lamps on a repeating schedule, pair this service with our on-site collection program and the same driver can pick up lamps, ballasts and batteries in one stop.
U-Waste Recycling Solutions is permitted through TCEQ as a Large Quantity Handler of Universal Waste, and our Houston facility is permitted by the EPA to accept intact and pre-crushed lamps of all types and sizes. Call 713-360-7310.