Fluorescent bulbs in 4′ and 8′ lengths can be difficult to handle and dispose of properly. But there is a device that is simple to make and works great for disposing of fluorescent bulbs or tubes..
You will need a 10′ stick of 1 1/2″ conduit. There are several different types of conduit you can use for this. I will list them below and tell a little about each type.
Types Of Conduit:
1. PVC Schedule 40- This type is the lightest to work with but it is also the most fragile and can break rather easily when disposing of the tubes. This type will require a T/A or terminal adapter glued on each end.
2. EMT- Electrical Metallic Tubing- This type of conduit works pretty well for this project. It is stronger than PVC but a little heavier. This type will require a steel set screw connector on each end.
3. IMC- Intermediate Metal Conduit is heavier than PVC and EMT and is also much stronger than both. This type is ideal for this project. All you would need for this are 2 -1 1/2″ caps for the ends as IMC is threaded on both ends. Rigid is another type that will work well for this.
You can shorten the pipe down to 5 or 6 ‘ if you wanted to make one just for disposing of 48″ bulbs. Really all you need to do is screw a pipe cap on each end of the pipe and when you are ready to dispose of a fluorescent bulb just unscrew the cap on one end and slide the bulb down into the pipe and screw the cap back on the pipe. Now just hold the pipe vertically with one end sitting on the ground. Hold the pipe with both hands and quickly raise the pipe off the ground about a foot or so and then slam it down on the one end letting the pipe cap hit the ground hard and the fluorescent bulb will break inside the pipe and contain it.
Then you can get some type of large heavy duty zip lock bag and then remove the cap and pour the contents right into the zip lock bag and seal it shut and throw it in the trash. I would advise doing this outside to avoid a mess inside the building.
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