Here are some calming facts:
1. CFLs contain about 5mg of mercury
2. If they break, you need to follow these guidelines
3. When they burn out, you need to either dispose of them at the Hazardous Waste facility near Shelby Farms on Saturday or Tuesday between 8:30am-1:00pm or at an area Home Depot.
Now, keep in mind CFLs last about two years, so you won't have the disposal issue coming up too often. What I do is keep my burned out bulbs in a box. When I get a good amount, I make one trip to Home Depot, or the waste facility. (I also take my other items that shouldn't go in the trash like batteries, miscellaneous electronics, etc.)
I have only had one CFL break, and it was actually already broken when I opened the box. I placed the box in a plastic bag and secured it, then added it to my used CFL collection box.
But I think the story raises a good point. Not everyone realizes that CFLs need to be disposed of at a waste or recycling facility. So please help spread the word!
Image courtesy of Puget Sound Energy
2 comments:
Fear mongering...
I did not catch the news but saw the teaser. Any mention of how much mercury is not put into the atmosphere by our coal powered steam plant since we switched to a more efficient light bulb
(Unless of course you buy green power blocks.)
according to Esource.com:
A CFL uses about one-third as much energy as an incandescent bulb that provides the same light output. Given that more than half the electricity generated in the U.S. comes from coal-fired power plants, which are a big source of mercury pollution, using CFLs instead of incandescent bulbs results in a net decrease of emissions of mercury into the environment.
The NRDC estimates that in the 10,000-hour life of a CFL, the mercury within the bulb plus the mercury emitted by power plants supplying electricity to the bulb adds up to about 8.0 milligrams. In that same 10,000-hour span, the energy to drive incandescent lamps to provide the same light output might produce 17.6 milligrams of mercury, depending on the type of power plant producing the energy.
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