http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-to-dispose-of-incandescent-bulbs.html
How to Dispose of Incandescent Bulbs
Switching to compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) is one quick and easy way to decrease the amount of energy you need to light your home as well as decreasing your utility bill! But you have heard correctly. In order to make CFLs an eco-friendly choice from start to finish, you do need to dispose of them differently than you would a traditional incandescent bulb. This is due to the small amount of mercury that is sealed in the glass tubing of the bulb.
On average, a CFL will contain around 5 mg of mercury; not a lot when you consider that old thermometers contained around 500 mg of mercury. Mercury is the biggest environmental drawback to CFLs, and knowing this, manufacturers are working to reduce even further the amount of mercury in their bulbs. So when your CFL’s finally do burn out, you need to take them to a proper recycling station. The easiest way to find one near you is to go to www.earth911.org and type in CFL and your zip code. If the drop-off is out of the way, you may want to consider storing your old CFLs in a secure container until you’ll either be in the area, or you have enough old bulbs to warrant a trip.
For more information or to subscribe at the introductory price of $10 a year, go to positivelygreen.com. Positively Green magazine launched in 2008 as a quarterly women’s magazine that covers every aspect of green from eco-friendly vacations to green fashion to green health. With articles that don’t just explain the problems, they outline solutions for busy people who want to make the change but don’t have the time to research solutions.
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add your comment »For those wanting to buy the best CFLs for the purpose, there is a very good article on treehugger today http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/09/be-careful-when-you-shop-for-cfls.php?dcitc=weekly_nl
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hello:)energy saving,yes,i would like to switch to the new bulbs...but i got an email about magnetic energy they release and the mercury contained in them so....i'll just try to pile up with the old bulbs whenever i can still find them,what is it here?a matter of money for some companies?why is there low concern about people's health,creating magnetic fields is well known to be unhealthy...i'll visit the site to get more information:(
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Check out http://www.rightlight.govt.nz/residential/efficient-lighting-info/safety for some tips to take on what to do if a CFL breaks. They say that the mercury vapourises rapidly at room temperature. Ventilate well for 15 minutes before you start clean up. Your car is not going to stay "contaminated", well no more than normal air anyway. Sweep up the big pieces of glass, and use the wrong side of sticky tape for the smaller bits. Wipe down the area with a damp cloth.
But mostly take care not to break them in the first place by wrapping them in newspaper or something protective, and be careful of the broken glass.
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If I transport these in my car to a place that recycles them (at least 30 minutes away from my rural home), how can I be sure one won't break in my car and contaminate the car with mercury?
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I agree with the headache/migraine in the video thanks for posting it Jac. They are everywhere at work and I get really bad eye strain to the point of having leaky eyes most of the day.
In Australia here, they have removed the incandescent ones from the shelves everywhere, so there was no choice but to buy the horrid things while I switched all my lighting over to the little ones that run on a transformer. Much better light and are not toxic. Cost a bit though, but then its better than headaches and eyestrain.
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Home Depot takes CFL's for recycling
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CFLs emit a large amount of electromagnetic radiation. They apparently are causing migraines in people who do not get migraines from other lights, including regular flourescents. Check out this YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upmLJM2VTlM&feature=related
Just because coal mining releases mercury into the atmosphere, is it OK to release mercury into your home (in the event of a broken CFL bulb)? Folks, the stuff is cumulative in the human system.
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I know CFLs are supposed to last longer but in our house they last *much* shorter than incandescent. We've tried them in multiple different lights and never had one last more than 6 months (and, yes, these were "quality" CFLs). Also, CFLs do not provide remotely the same quality light (and give me headaches). I hate CFLs (but don't mind good quality full bar flourescents which we have in two places in our house) and will continue using incandescent at least until LEDs become available at reasonable prices (I've never been able to try a LED light so don't know if they are acceptable replacements for incandescent (to me)).
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If you buy cheap and nasty CFL's they won't last. Not sure what they stock where you are, but I always choice either Eco-choice or Philips as they did well in a consumer magazine comparison. LED's aren't easy to find where I am, but will definately look at them when they become more available.
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We have both the old-fashioned filament bulbs and CFLs in our house. The CFLs really do last much longer. The downside is the odd shape doesn't work everywhere, and because the light is different there are some places, such as a bedroom lamp, where you don't want those. We haven't had to dispose of one yet, but obviously will someday so the comments about how to do it are informative. I live in a semi-rural area in Utah, a state that itsn't very green to begin with. And I agree that you wouldn't want to save these up to go recycle them, it would take years to have enough!
As far as the mercury issue, coal fired power plants emit far more mercury into the air and that is what is polluting our lakes, rivers and streams everywhere. I've been checking into buying LED bulbs, which are harder to find and more expensive, but which have "better" light and last for a very long time. Any thoughts from anyone else on LEDs?
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