How are you supposed to get rid of old lightbulbs?

[catpoooffender]

I know you're not supposed to throw them in the bin, but round here they don't accept them for recycling either. Sick of putting them aside for a future, more intelligent me to know how to deal with them. I'm not getting any more intelligent so please advise me!

I seem to remember the shops are supposed to take them back hence some offering special recycling banks. I would ask them what to do rather than leaving outside.

I take them to the tip

But these days you have to make an appointment to go to the tip. Which is a massive faff.

@GhoulWithADragonTattoo

I seem to remember the shops are supposed to take them back hence some offering special recycling banks. I would ask them what to do rather than leaving outside.

Not necessarily. The manufacturer / importer are responsible, but that also does not necessarily mean it goes back to them.

They must maximise the potential to recycle their products, and as part of this they may take items back.

The shops may handle recycling collection, but leaving old goods outside their shop is passing the problem to someone else. If the shop collects and you haven’t deposited it in their collection bins then you’re putting it onto the staff to pick it up from the doorway provided it hasn’t been blown around the street.
If the shop doesn’t collect them then you’ve just turned domestic electronic waste which may go into an appropriate council bins into commercial waste which the shop now has to pay to get rid of.

Manufacturers usually provide guidance on what forms of recycling are suitable for their goods, and may give downloadable free post labels for you to send to their waste centre if your council can’t handle them

I put them in the general date bin, tbh it never occurred to me to do anything else with them!

[quote catpoooffender]@PigletJohn the packaging usually has this symbol on it [/quote]
The symbol means the item should be recycled, and ought to be put into the recycling chain.

www.reducereuserecycle.co.uk/greenarticles/what_is_weee.php

www.reducereuserecycle.co.uk/recyclingbycounty/countyindex.php

It doesn’t guarantee that your councils recycling options can handle it.

This gives info on options for lightbulbs :
www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk/how-to-recycle-electronics/what-electronics-can-be-recycled/recycling-lights-and-lightbulbs

lightbulbs are not on my council's list of recyclable items

last time I asked, they said put it in the bin

I think their depot still has a skip for the old type of long fluorescent tubes.