Depends on the lamp type. No don't smash them unless
fluorescent and you have a special
fluorescent smashing machine for recycling purposes. (My project to get before our next shop lamp change over - hundreds of lamps in the ceiling filled up two drums instantly for only T-8 lamps.) Normal lamp recyclers don't require such a smashing machine but smashing the lamp would save a lot of space. Various models of smasher on the market, all feature special filtering so nothing gets out. You can otherwise if smaller scale in
fluorescent lamps, buy and put them in pre-paid for shipping recycling boxes &
send them back to the recyclers selling the boxes or get a 55gal drum with bag liner for it and the lamp recyclers will collect up the drum and leave you a new one for a set price.
CFL's are supposted to be safe for normal disposal or returned to place of
purchase, I forget which is most recommended but probably the latter. Don't know, I put them in with my various other arc lamps for disposal.
Incandescent and
halogen lamps are supposted to be safe to normally dispose of but I drum them up also for disposal given the amount per year I have. Another 55gal drum with thick liner. A
xenon lamp in theory is also safe for normal disposal but is possibly the only lamp that would need smashing. Believe I remember reading instructions on the xenon lamps for proper disposal of them being something like a 5gal drum sealed and dropped, than normal disposal.
Don't recycle
projector lamps - them expensive xenon ones can have new lamps installed into the housings at a huge cost savings.
Moving light lamps, shop lamps of any multi-vapor type metal hallide, sodium or
mercury vapor need proper disposal. For those I do a 55gal drum with thick liner and store them properly and always with lid on. High pressure xenon lamps for me go in the same container with the exception that they stay in their protective shipping sleeves to contain any broken glass should they break. A 4.5K
xenon lamp ain't no more explosive at room temperature than a 1.5Kw Sportslighter metal hallied lamp or even a 400w MV black light lamp - what a mess when they go up. When emptying lamps into the drum I use
safety protection so as to assure any lamps falling on other lamps or as load shifts, if something goes up I'm safe.
At the moment, I have one drum each, arc lamp and
halogen lamp that are half full or new and empty as of today, and in storage and waiting for recycling three drums filled with
fluorescent lamps, three full to the brim of arc lamps and one of
halogen lamps or
incandescent lamps from
PAR 64
thru A-19 lamps. This in addition to other drums for copper, aluminum, batteries, scrap steel,
circuit boards, ballasts
etc.
On the
fluorescent tube lamps, if broken they go in with the arc lamps along with the
CFL lamps as its simpler that way. The
fluorescent lamp drums are only for un-broken lamps and mostly they stay in their individual lamp sleeves to help protect them. Do bi-yearly entire complex lamp swaps so the pallets of lamps come in, out of the individual sleeves come the new lamps, into the sleeves go the old sleeves than into the drum.
At some
point this spring where I work will have to pay about $1K each drum to recycle the arc lamp drums, a not as bad price on the
fluorescent lamp, battery,
ballast and
circuit board drums and an unknown price for the
halogen/
incandescent lamp drums. Hopefully they will be offset some by the other drums in recycling. At the moment, when full I seal them up and store them until ready to recycle.
55gal drums might be extensive for smaller houses but smaller drums negotiated with a recycling company could be negotiated I'm sure. First step is to contact a lamp recycler. Most moving light lamp boxes have a link to find out various ones in your area.
Another option is to contact your lamp supplier. For a while before I was recycling as many lamps as I do per year now, one of my main suppliers would take my bad moving light lamps for me and recycle them with his bad ones coming from industrial building lamp changes. I would fill up kitty litter containers worth of lamps and
send them his way for free as a courtousy. Could start by contacting your lamp supplier about this also.