Phosphor found inside fluorescent lamps - not only the familiar tubes, but also new "energy saver" lamps - contains mercury. One single fluorescent tube contains between 20-30 micrograms of mercury - enough to pollute more than 30,000 litres of water beyond a safe level of drinking. Spent fluorescent lamps need to be handled and disposed of carefully.

Every year millions of spent lamps and tubes are sent to landfill, however since January 2002 lamps have been re-classified as Special Waste and can only be transported by a licensed carrier to a licensed treatment or recovery site. Throwing lights and monitors into a skip or bin is now unlawful under the Special Waste Regulations 1996.

In August 2004 the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment European Directive 2002/96/EC (WEEE) was applied to all lamps.