Originally Posted by Nasty

Avoid breaking fluorescent lamp tubes.

Fluorescent tubes contain elemental mercury mixed with powder. Crushing tubes creates mercury vapor which is difficult to contain. If you do break a lamp, try to avoid breathing the vapor that is released. Carefully sweep up the lamp, place in a plastic bag and place in a 5-gallon container with a lid. Dispose at a Household Hazardous Waste collection facility.

Because fluorescent lamps contain mercury, it is illegal to put spent lamps in the garbage or trash. When lamps are broken or disposed in the wrong places, they can release mercury, posing a threat to human health and the environment.