Pottsville Republican & Herald: Agencies Push Recycling of Compact Fluorescent Bulbs, Mercury Safety
Filed under: Earth 911 - August 11, 2008
BY Stephanie Lasota
A bright idea to conserve energy may require special disposal.
Some organizations, local municipalities and businesses are encouraging people who purchase compact fluorescent lightbulbs, which contain an average of 5 milligrams of mercury, to recycle the lights.
Agencies are also emphasizing care when handling the bulbs.
“The amount of mercury contained in a CFL is less than 5 milligrams, which could fit on the head of a ballpoint pen. While they are intact, none of the mercury can leach into the surrounding environment; however, if CFLs break, it’s important to open windows and remove any people or pets for at least 15 minutes,” said Patty Barthel, community relations coordinator for Waste Management, who announced a CFL recycling program in July. “The risk is not significant, but exposure can be dangerous, particularly to elderly and small children.”
Collecting bulbs
In March, 15 Schuylkill County municipalities participated in a PPL Corp. Earth Day promotion, which distributed recycling bins to accept expired CFLs at their respective government buildings.
Participating municipalities include Butler Township, Frackville, Girardville, Landingville, Mahanoy City, McAdoo, Mechanicsville, Minersville, New Castle Township, New Philadelphia, Pine Grove Township, Schuylkill Haven, Tamaqua, Tremont and Washington Township.
Frackville Councilman Patrick O’Boyle said the borough’s normal recycling program has grown in popularity.
“I can’t see why this wouldn’t be a success,” he said.
Mercury is an essential component of CFLs and allows the bulb to be an efficient light source. According to a press release from Waste Management, it is expected that some 4 billion CFLs will be used in households by 2012, but most people don’t know of “safe, convenient” ways to recycle them.
“We don’t want CFLs in the trash,” Barthel said.
Waste Management launched a nationwide online recycling program —ThinkGreenFromHome.com— at which people can order a recycling kit with prepaid postage for about $15. When the kit —which comes with a special vapor lock seal— is filled, you send the bulbs back to a recycling center through the mail, Barthel said.
“Each of those boxes can hold up to 15 of the spiral CFLs and what happens to them once we receive them is they go to a special processing center in Minneapolis, Minnesota,” Barthel said. “The bulbs are removed from the special vapor lock bags, the base part is separated from the glass part of the bulb, which is crushed, and the process removes the mercury powder from the glass. . . The mercury-containing powder goes to a different company and the glass goes for further recycling.”
About CFLs
PPL spokesman Ryan W. Hill said CFLs generate 75 percent less heat and use 75 percent less energy than a regular lightbulb.
“It saves people trips to the store, but it also reduces waste,” he said.
Hill said CFL users can visit Earth911.org and LampRecycle.org to explore local recycling options.
“It is something we encourage people to do, not to dispose of them in their trash, but to find a way to recycle them and I think there are more and more options becoming available to do that,” he said.
The Home Depot launched its national CFL recycling initiative in June.
A spokeswoman for the store said county residents could take their bulbs to the Saint Clair location on Route 61 for disposal.
According to a press release from The Home Depot, customers can bring any expired, unbroken CFLs and give them to the store associate behind the returns desk. The bulbs will then be managed by an environmental management company who will coordinate CFL packaging, transportation and recycling.
Hill said if a bulb does break at home, it’s important that the broken bulb should be double bagged before it is thrown away.