Rare earth elements (REEs) are used in a various industrial product. The demand for rare earth elements is growing at a rate of 3.7–8.6% annually. Yttrium (Y), europium (Eu), cerium (Ce), lanthanum (La), and terbium (Tb) rare earths are used for fluorescent lamps (FLs). In this review paper various techniques associated with the recycling and recovery of REEs in phosphors from waste FLs& other electronics items & their environmental impact is discussed. (Binneman’s et al,2013) Demands for rare earth elements (REEs) has been increased due to fast technological development such as permanent magnet, green energy, defence related applications, efficient fuel vehicles, and fluorescent lamps, etc. There is need to develop alternative routes for rare earth production and supply. As the demand of rare earth is increasing day by day in various industrial products eg permanent magnets, lamp phosphors, rechargeable Ni-MH batteries and catalysts