Energy efficient lightbulbs contain mercury. How do we safely dispose of them?

Question

There is a news blurb on the yahoo homepage with only part of the information provided. A video link is to a BBC news broadcast raises the mercury question. There is also a link to a report on migraines triggered by these new bulbs. When these bulbs break there is a strong smell of burning which can be scary.

I prefer the incandescent bulb which lowered heating bills because they produced heat thus lowering greenhouse gas emissions produced by by coal, oil, wood and other furnaces.

Answer 1

That's a great question! Thanks for making that point that CFL's have mercury on them.

You know us "green hippies" flinch when we read 'dispose'.  As dispose is the last option we would go to. (first being reduce, then reuse...then recycle).

You can recycle your CFL's (where they recapture the mercury) at some stores (IKEA) or you can go to www.earth911.org to find a local organization that will recycle your CFL's.

Interesting point about the heat output from incandescent bulbs.  Are you able to calculate how much heating you are able to saved based on using the bulbs?  Does it save more than the 75% extra energy you use to light a room? What about the warm periods, are you saving enough in the cold periods to offset the warm months?  Plus the extra energy it takes the extra energy it takes the AC to cool the room during warm periods?

Answer 2

I throw them in the trash, just like I have been doing with fluorescent tubes for the past 30 years.

Answer 3

That's a good question. There should be an internet link on the package of the bulb that directs you to a website about disposal of them.

What happens when they break in a school? In Rhode Island recently a young student brought a mercury thermometer to school and dropped it, smashing it on the floor. The State EPA and local HAZ-MATS came and school was closed for the day. It cost thousands to clean it up and check for mercury levels. Mercury is illegal in public schools.

Similar events happened the year before in a science stockroom in a local highschool where a mercury barometer was broken. School was closed for a full week.

Answer 4

You can dispose of them in your trash.   Modern landfills will limit the hazard to the environment.   THEY SHOULD NOT BE INCINERATED!!!

The following link will answer any questions you have regarding CFL lightbulbs.

http://www.eartheasy.com/live_energyeff_...

Answer 5

After the news "broke" that CFLs had mercury in them, the green whacks released "new" findings which indicate that normal household solid waste is the place to do that.

Don't do it that way. Even the miniscule amount of Hg in a single CFL, when compounded by the millions that will be discarded each day, will become a significant source of pollution.

Save them and send them to your local HAZMAT disposal site.

If you don't have a HASMAT disposal site, contact your solid waste contractor.  In my area, Rumpke does that and I think that Waste Management also has HAZMAT options.

Answer 6

The easiest way to find out where to safely recycle compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) is to go to http://www.lamprecycle.org or http://www.epa.gov/bulbrecycling.  These sites will help you find recycling centers in your area, and they also provide a lot of safety information about CFLs.

One thing to consider is that while CFLs contain trace amounts of mercury, incandescent bulbs actually release more mercury into the atmoshpere because they use up 75% more power from coal power plants.  Coal power plants release mercury as well as carbon dioxide, so by using more energy with incandescents, you're actually doing more harm to the environment than with a CFL that can be recycled.

There's a company - Earthmate - that sells CFLs with only 1 mg of mercury.  It's supposed to be 75% less mercury than regular CFLs.  You can check them out at http://www.earthmatelighting.com.  This company is super environmental.  Even their boxes are made with 100% post-consumer waste.