Green Tip: Recycling Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
Filed under: Earth 911 - May 5, 2007
Los Angeles, CA – Public education and media campaigns have urged consumers to replace their incandescent light bulbs with the more energy efficient Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs. Because CFLs are up to four times as energy efficient as the traditional incandescent bulb, switching to CFLs can both save the individual consumer money and reduce the amount of energy it takes to light a home. But there is one potential environmental downside to the increased use of CFLs, which is that these energy-efficient bulbs contain small amounts of mercury.
Recycling is the only proper means of managing mercury waste, which in most cases requires the consumer to be educated about how and where to dispose of potentially hazardous materials. Earth 911, through its Web site Earth911.org, provides easy access to local recycling information for CFLs and numerous other potentially hazardous household waste for communities throughout the country.
“The dramatic effort to increase use of CFLs may pay off considerably in terms of reduced energy consumption,” said Mark Rappaport, Earth 911 Program Manager. “Now we need to make sure that consumers understand that it is vital that these longer-life bulbs are disposed of properly in order to ensure maximum protection of our environment and personal health and safety.”
When products containing mercury are placed in the trash, the mercury can take one of two routes back into our water: if trash is sent to a landfill, mercury can eventually leak out of the landfill and enter groundwater; if trash is incinerated, mercury may be released as a vapor into the air and return to waterways through rain and snow. For CFL bulbs to be disposed of safely, the must be stored intact until they are returned to a facility equipped to process and recycle the bulbs.
“Every day provides an opportunity for each of us to reflect on the choices we make and how they affect our personal health and environment,” continued Rappaport. “Making sure to recycle hazardous materials we use in our homes, including CFLs, is just one small way that each of us can make a big difference.”
About Earth 911
For over 16 years Earth 911 has been the nation’s most widely used environmental information network, providing local access to environmental resources for communities throughout the United States. By simply entering a ZIP Code, local environmental information is available free of charge through the national Web site www.Earth911.org and toll free recycling hotline 1-800-CLEANUP (in Spanish and English).
The vast array of environmental resources and information available through Earth 911 includes:
- Recycling Center Locations
- Electronics Donation and Disposal Locations
- Safe Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Locations
- Energy Conservation Tips
- Tips on what you can do to combat Global Warming
- Green Shopping Tips
- The benefits of Composting and How-To Guide
- Local Beach Water Quality Alerts
- Business Recycling Resource Section
- Kids/Environmental Education Resources
Earth 911 provides vast economies of scale by consolidating thousands of local public notification systems into one. To keep the system current, tens of thousands of government coordinators around the country have the ability to update their community-specific recycling information. Each month over 10 million pages are viewed on the website and 30,000 calls are received on the phone system. Earth 911 provides these services through innovative public-private partnerships. Earth 911 partners with companies and industries as well as the EPA and other federal and local governments to educate businesses and individuals about the growing concerns of our planet.
Earth 911 was recently featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, CBS Morning News and The Wall Street Journal. Earth 911 is a recipient of the Al Gore Hammer Award for Environmental Excellence.
For more information, contact Severn Williams at 510-336-9566.