Compact bulbs have to be discarded..why? like oil and other caustic items! how much damage can they do?

Question

I've seen that they have to be disposed of..and was concerned..just what is the trade off here? are they going to do more damage to our earth? and if they are not giving the right kind of light..I would go back to the reg light bulbs..a few more pennies in electricty to me would be better tnah s******g up our eatrth more..so what do you think are we really saving here or causing another problem?

Answer 1

Compact bulbs are flourescent and, as such, contain small amounts of mercury.  As they are a relatively new item, the amount of damage that they can do is only in theory at this point.

Answer 2

Like alot of other things in this old world, it is a matter of personal choice and knowledge. This question is literally one of those "flip a coin" type things. You can save alot more than a few pennies if you do your whole house in the compact bulbs, but while your cost of use goes down, the accumulative effect of the mercury in those bulb is a nightmare!! Kinda like the cow out in the pasture. One cow does not pose a problem but the accumulative effect of ALOT of cows over time pollutes both our air and water tables. They f**t which puts methane in the air and the waste that hits the ground builds up and pollutes the water. I dont think anything man made is perfect and problem free and the delemma of compact or regular is just another man made type thing so choices have to be made. Your pocketbook now, or tomorrows air and water quality.

Answer 3

How much damage will they do?  Less than what is being done now.

Here in the US, we generate most of our electricity with coal - which contains traces of mercury.   The compact fluorescent bulbs save quite a bit of energy.   Even though the bulbs contain a small amount mercury, they reduce the total mercury emitted over their lifetime.  (Teeny bit added from compact bulb minus lots of mercury reduced from lower electric generation equals less mercury overall.)

For more info on compact flourescent bulbs, and details on how the US EPA recommends that you dispose of your bulbs, check out the websites below.

Good question.

Answer 4

Neither oil nor CFLs are caustic.  You might want to look up words before you use them.