Well..so much for going green. Did you catch NBC news last night?

Question

They aired a story about those Eco-friendly-this -will-save-you-money-on-your-electric-bi... light bulbs. Yessir,these babies last a lot longer than regular bulbs and use less energy. You all know the ones I mean: those curly light bulbs. The problem is that these bulbs contain MERCURY!!! Gasp! Oh no! NBC said don't break one or you will have a serious problem. They showed a guy disposing of one like it was hazardous waste because, as the story reported IT IS hazardous waste. General Electric makes the ones I have in my home, NBC reported that there are approximately 4 million of these bulbs being used. Guess what? As good as they might be, they will burn out. Then what in the h**l are we supposed to do with them? NBC reprted that they cannot go into a landfill but exactly how would anyone know? So like I said: So much for going green.

Answer 1

Yes you have to call out haz mat.  The funny part to these bulbs are, you can not throw it in the trash, they must be recycled.  I have to drive over 700 miles to find the nearest recycler that will take these bulbs that contain mercury.

Answer 2

When there is a potential problem such as this, there is probably an opportunity for a new business to solve the problem. It is still a bit difficult to find local recycling spots but they will become more common as these bulbs become the predominant bulb. LEDs would solve the problem but need a bit of improving before they gain acceptance for home lighting.

It is amazing how much fear these little bulbs have generated while many of the same folks often say that nuclear waste is not a problem. Hmmmm.

Answer 3

i heard tat one lady accidentally broke one in her child's room and she called in chemical ppl 2 look at it and they found a plate-sized spot that was dangerous but made her rip out all the carpet in her house and put in new carpet and it cost her like 2000 dollars

Answer 4

They are no different than disposing of a regular fluorescent bulb.  I (when I have one go bad) will take them to the local hazardous drop off site.  There are new bulbs that don't contain mercury as well.  Did NBC mentioned other toxic items that shouldn't go in landfills either?  Such things as batteries, paint thinners, paint, some household cleaners, etc.  I think the media is blowing this way out of proportion!

Answer 5

Its a bunch of c**p.  When they burn out, its because they leaked their mercury vapor out.  If theyre burnt out, there shouldnt be a dangerous amount in there, and its a vapor anyways, it dilutes in the air.  2 have broken in my house, both while still in the packages, and we didnt do anything about it, it cost us $0, and no one got hurt.

LED light bulbs are pretty sweet.  I dont think any of them mimic an incandescent though in light output.  Theyre expensive.

Answer 6

Many major cities have a drop-off program for CFL's, and you can also mail them in to companies to be recycled.

www.lamprecycle.org

or google "recycle CFL" for a lot more discussion.

This is not a new or unique problem -- the only real solutions to environmental problems are *consuming less*, so all substitutions of one consumer product  or material for another are going to have their drawbacks.

Answer 7

Seriously? Haha, that's funny. I put a bunch (four) of them in my room, but the wiring in my house is crazy and horrible and dangerous, and sometimes outlets shoot sparks, but uh... they all flickered like crazy and burnt out, so I smashed them in the back yard, and then picked them up with my bare hands and put them in the garbage.

We have a ton in other places in the house, the wiring in my room is just crappy. Canadian Tire gave them away for free a few years back, so we have a lot.

Answer 8

I'd heard about that bit of news a year or so ago.  Add that to a century's worth of batteries tossed in the trash, the household cleaner filled paper towels...  

In time one of the companies will come up with an alternative to mercury, if there is one.  If not, another technology will mature and replace these bulbs.

One could always go back to candles or refined animal based oil lamps, they worked wonderfully for centuries!