The Southtown Star: Energy Efficient Light Bulbs Worth the Effort
Filed under: Earth911 - January 1, 2008
I’m really confused by the major push for compact flourescent lightbulbs. When you buy them, the package notes they can’t be thrown into the garbage can. I understand they contain mercury, so if the country switches from incandescent bulbs to CFLs, will we reduce carbon emissions only to create a major problem with mercury waste? Do we really expect people to start gathering their used CFL bulbs to bring to hazardous waste collection sites or hope the employees at some of the stores that take them back will know how to handle them? How can we be sure the mercury won’t be leaching into groundwater supplies?
Paige
A: This is an especially important question given the new energy bill signed into law earlier this month. It requires phasing out old incandescent bulbs for more energy efficient bulbs. This includes new types of incandescent, compact flourescent and LED bulbs.
As you said, CFLs have mercury, and you can’t simply throw them into the trash. However, this doesn’t mean we are headed toward another major environmental disaster. First off, the mercury in CFLs can be recycled. Unfortunately, recycling opportunities have been relatively limited until recently.
You can’t place CFLs in your regular curbside recycling. Instead, they must be taken somewhere that recycles them, such as the Household Hazardous Waste and Electronics Recycling center in Chicago. Ikea has been a pioneer with its free take-back program (it has stores in Bolingbrook and Schaumburg), and I recently learned ACE Hardware collects old CFLs.
The little bit of effort it takes to recycle CFLs really is worth it in terms of reducing energy use and reducing carbon emission. It minimizes mercury pollution, too. Burning coal in power plants releases mercury into the air, which can fall back to the earth with rain. The careful disposal of these bulbs can really minimize the risks of mercury contamination.
However, you should be careful when handling the bulbs. When they break, they are more complicated to clean up than traditional bulbs. The EPA Energy Star Web site (energy star.gov) gives detailed instructions for how to deal with cleaning up a broken CFL. Following these instructions can minimize your risk of mercury exposure.
If you break a CFL, open the windows to the outside and close off the room from the rest of the house. When the mercury starts to vaporize, you don’t want to inhale it. Stay out of the room for 15 minutes or so before returning to clean up the spill.
Then use a piece of stiff paper or cardboard to scoop the fragments into a plastic bag. Be sure to wear disposable gloves because mercury can be absorbed through the skin. On hard surfaces, use a damp disposable towel or cloth to wipe up the spill and toss it into the bag.
On a rug or carpet, use sticky tape (duct tape would be great) to pick up any dust and place it in the bag. If any vacuuming is necessary, place the vacuum bag or empty (and wipe out) the vacuum canister into the bag.
Seal the plastic bag and place it inside a second sealed plastic bag for disposal.
If we make a little extra effort to recycle CFLs and prevent them from breaking, we won’t add extra mercury to our landfills or contaminate our groundwater.
CFL manufacturers should make this clearer on their labels, but we can all share this information with friends and family.
Want to learn more? Check out www.epa.gov/bulbrecycling or www.earth911.org.