Canada's national strategy for lamps containing mercury

Every year mercury is released into the environment from millions of light bulbs such as compact fluorescent lamps and fluorescent tubes that end up in landfills. The National Strategy for Lamps Containing Mercury aims to eliminate this source of mercury pollution in Canada by ensuring bulbs containing mercury are collected, sent to specialized facilities for environmentally sound disposal and encourages Canadians to buy mercury-free alternatives.

Read the strategy

Targeted actions, recommendations and a framework to measure our effectiveness

Read the strategy

Targeted actions, recommendations and a framework to measure our effectiveness

Measuring our progress

Read our baseline report, the data collected in 2017 and how we will measure and report on our progress

Read our code of practice

Best practices for the end-of-life management of lamps containing mercury

Lamps containing mercury

Learn about the types of lamps that contain mercury

Disposing of lamps with mercury

There are different options available to dispose of lamps containing mercury depending on where you live. Some provinces offer programs where you can drop off your lamps at collection sites or arrange to have free pick-up services. There are also companies that offer lamp disposal services for a fee and retailer take back programs to keep mercury out of the environment. Be sure to check your bulbs for the Hg symbol, which indicates that the product contains mercury.