Most mercury-containing bulbs are still discarded with municipal solid waste that is ultimately landfilled or incinerated. These disposal methods often lead to a release of elemental mercury into through breakage and leakage and ultimately contaminate the food chain and the environment. Bulbs should be recycled after they burn out. Almost all components of a fluorescent bulb can be recycled to some degree. The metal end caps, glass tubing, mercury and phosphor powder can all be separated and reused. Recyclers often sell the metallic portions as scrap metal, the glass can be remanufactured into other glass products, and the mercury can be recycled into new fluorescent light bulbs or other mercury-containing devices.

Discarded fluorescent bulbs in the trash most often break and some mercury will be released. However, the use of mercury-containing bulbs for general indoor lighting makes good environmental sense. These bulbs are significantly more energy-efficient than incandescent bulbs because they require less energy to provide lighting. Using fluorescent bulbs in place of incandescent bulbs lowers energy use, reducing the associated release of mercury from many power plants. Fluorescent bulbs are also more cost-effective as they last up to 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb.