CFL Safety

We're pretty sure you've heard by now:  Switching from incandescent lightbulbs to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) is a great way to save energy and money. But your environmental responsibility doesn't end there. CFL bulbs contain a small amount of mercury, a neurotoxin, so it's important to dispose of them properly. (To put the amount into perspective, consider that one CFL bulb contains between 2 and 5 milligrams of mercury, whereas the nation's coal-fired power plants spew out about 50 tons of mercury per year.) Some manufacturers have already implemented strategies to reduce mercury content in CFLs. While they're working on that, you can do your part by keeping CFLs out of landfills.

Don't throw CLFs in the trash. Some manufacturers, like Osram Sylvania, accept returned CFLs for recycling. Retailers, like IKEA, also have take-back programs. Find your nearest CFL recycling center at RecycleABulb.com, or consult the EPA's directory of recycling facilities. If a bulb breaks, the EPA recommends opening a window and leaving the room for at least 15 minutes. Keep children and pets away from the broken bulb, and follow these steps for safe clean up and removal.

Update:  Home Depot now accepts used CFL bulbs for recycling.

--D.W.

Sources:  EPA, The Boston Globe, Worldchanging

Comments

[Margie Campaigne]

I saw my electric bill plummet when I put in almost all CFL's a few years ago.

I DO want to ask manufacturers NOT to package them in those )#(*& impossible-to-open blister packs. I broke a new bulb just trying to get the package open.

I also want to urge those who have objections to the small selection of CFL's for different fixtures and applications to keep looking. I have found nice round bulbs for fixtures where they are visible, ones that are dimmable for dimmer switched fixtures, ones shaped like incandescents, little ones for closet lights, etc.

[Alethea]

Most people I encounter do not know this and throw them away. Are manufactors doing anything to label their bulbs? A simple brightly colored sticker or label that indicates the product should be recycled properly would save a lot of the bulbs from entering into the landfills.

[Bunny]

Couldn't find a recyclable agent within 50 miles - so what do we do with them?

[Fran Caffee]

In my town [Aurora, IL. 40 miles west of Chicago], the Ace Hardware stores will take back CFL's for recycling. I would suspect this is nationwide. Check your local Ace.
Fran Caffee

[Pat]

On the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Choptank Electric has drop boxes for used compact fluorescent bulbs which are then turned in to a recycler. Perhaps other electric companies have similar programs.

[Jim]

I have a number of CFL's at home, mostly outside, but I also have a number or incandescents indoors because of 1) quality of light 2)migrane headache issues 3)the noise we can't hear bothers our pets ears. And something so toxic you have to have the windows open for 15 minutes. Yikes. But no matter, I'm putting in solar panels anyway so the energy loss is all mine....

[Pamela]

I have changed many bulbs in my home but with young grandchildren and not always graceful Dobes, it makes me nervous to think I may hazard their health...just last week an antique lamp went flying--everything OK but the bulb--so some bulbs will not be CLF until they are truly safe. Technology must catch up with safety and soon.

[Paulette]

This is a solution whose time has NOT come.I'm waiting until its perfected before I install them indoors.

[John Dinwiddie]

I just deleted an Obama plug
because it began "are you up to
the challenge?" Then to this,
where I am told that "...your
environmental resp.." etc.

I am on your side, and my teeth
grind when I read this kind of copy.

Why? It is insufferably
condescending. You can write
this stuff, which is important, without making it sound like
you are a Den Mother talking to
a bunch of Cub Scouts.

Please. I am fed up with leaving my gates open to every good cause in town and then paying the price
of reading, incessantly, this kind
of preachy rhetoric.

Thank you (as if this will change matters).

John Dinwiddie
Deep North Designs

[Jill]

I have installed all CFL's indoors but am moving soon and am planning to wait on installing them in my new home because of thier toxicity! Are there harmful materials in the regualr bulbs? and is there an altenative to the CFL's for saving energy?

[Mark Easter]

Many people have argued that mercury pollution in CFL's is worse than emissions from power plants. The article quotes that coal-fired power plants in the U.S. emit 50 tons of mercury per year, and I just corraborated that against EPA reports. I just did the calculations, and that is the amount of mercury in about 13 BILLION CFL's, which is far more than the number of CFL's sold yearly in the U.S. Especially when one considers the recycling options available to most of us (admittedly not all of us) the mercury associated with CFL's is a lower health risk than from power plants, and it has the added benefit of reducing GHG emissions.

[Brian]

Thanks for this detailed info (at the EPA site link) re: how to clean up after a CFL breaks. I, too, broke one in our garage trying to get it out of the blasted blister pack it came in. I did it all wrong. I thought the small amount of mercury was contained in the base of the bulb, not the glass tubing. WRONG! If your local sanitary/recycling company doesn't have a recycling program for CFL's, try asking around at the stores selling CFL's about recycling opportunities.
Brian in Orygun.

[Brian]

Thanks for this detailed info (at the EPA site link) re: how to clean up after a CFL breaks. I, too, broke one in our garage trying to get it out of the blasted blister pack it came in. I did it all wrong. I thought the small amount of mercury was contained in the base of the bulb, not the glass tubing. WRONG! If your local sanitary/recycling company doesn't have a recycling program for CFL's, try asking around at the stores selling CFL's about recycling opportunities.
Brian in Orygun.

[Maureen Ehle]

The power companies have been giving these bulbs out for years and now we have a huge collection of them in the garage. #1 a flourescent bulb does not save energy if you turn if off and on frequently. It has to be left on for 1/2 hour or more. It takes more power to tunr it on again than to leave it on. Just like the previous writer, I have not been able to find a place closer than 30 miles away to recycle these things. Why weren't we told of this in the first place? I'm now terrified that I may break one. Just like computers and all the other hi-tech junk we were sold a bill of goods on before they were made recyclable or safe. And the bulbs come in all these werid numbered sizes, so I don't know what size to get.
An idea whose time has not come yet.

[George Thomas]

My view is to keep pushing the frontiers forward at all points. I've replaced the bulbs and treat them very carefully. And know how to recycle.

Now we need millions to be on the same page and get sensitive in their homes and acivities to the living Earth, taking care in all aspects of life. That leads to very high quality living and attitudes. Check that out for a moment. Good to celebrate that regularly so I recommend DanceAroundTheSun.org as a great togetherness builder.

[carol]

To John:
I'm sorry you're irritated. I know how you feel, but there are people out there who DO repond to that sort of thing. So I ignor the "condecending" stuff (assuming it's for someone else) and move on to the things I'm interested in. The preachy stuff is usually a little too simplified for me anyway.

[zap]

stop using cell phones and computers this is a waste of energy.

[Mary Reinertsen]

Has this website ever mentioned that business about having to leave a CFL on for at least 15 minutes or having it's life expectancy (and therefore my savings) dramatically reduced? It seems you can't win whatever you do but it sure would be nice if I could take The Green Life's recommendations at face value. Try harder we deserve more.

[Audrey C]

I refuse to buy any more CFL bulbs. Twice, Sylvania (not cheap) UL approved bulbs broke near the base, when I turned them on, making a horrible smell. This has never happened to me with any traditional incandescent bulbs. I think CFL's are hazardous, as more people will find out due to the ill advised current promotions.

[reason17]

I am in Portland, Oregon. Our local IKEA will take used CFL lamps. Might be an option for some...

People should also know that LED's are becoming truly viable and even cost competitive when you take into consideration their longevity. They have also leapfrogged CFLs in terms of color/warmth. My company is a lighting manufacturer and we just recently published a lamping comparison chart to help people understand the difference between their options, including carbon footprint: http://www.eleekinc.com/eleek_speak/8/EleekLampingComparison.pdf

[Rob Brinkman]

While mercury is a dangerous substance one should keep in perspective the amount involved. And yes there are many common use items that contain toxic chemicals like mercury, like older thermostats, smoke detectors, alkaline batteries, computers etc.
Of perhaps more signifigance than the gross power plant emissions of mercury, is the amount attributable to using a 60 watt incandescent instead of a 13 watt cfl. About 10 milligrams of mercury are emitted by the increased power consumption of a incandescent bulb as opposed to a cfl. So even iof every cfl was carelessly broken less mercury would be released then if incandescent bulbs were used. if you are waiting for perfect ways to save or generate electricity you will be waiting forever.

[Ray baskerville]

As many have pointed out CFL's are by no means a clear cut 'green' option and looked at from a cradle to cradle perspective not very green at all. Politicians are taking notice of green issues because elections are coming and it is prudent to do so now as only those with some vested interest to discount global warming. We need to not make sweeping changes before the details and consequences have been carefully looked at.

[Jan Jenson]

Those curly fluorescent lights are NOT safe. They're VERY TOXIC!! See this comment from 2 days ago on a heavy-metal toxicity list I belong to. Jan Jenson in NOrth Carolina

Date: Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:31:33 -0700
From: chantal Subject: [metals] THE CURSE OF THE CURLY LIGHTS!!!!!
To: Metals & Human Health

THE CURSE OF THE CURLY LIGHTS!!!!!

VERY IMPORTANT INSIGHT INTO CFLs**

(COMPACT FLUORESCENT LIGHT BULBS)

*Recently, we had a huge wake up call when we decided to
back-track to see what might have caused my sudden fall into
chronic fatigue and exhaustion of body and mind wherein I am
virtually house-bound and often bed/chair bound. AND
INEXPLICABLY GETTING WORSE BY THE DAY - despite expert
medical care.**We realized that I had started to slow down in
November 2006 and then suddenly came to a dead stop in
December 2006.
**When we reviewed my activity level before DEC 2006 - I
recalled being quite physically active for 10-15 hours a day
of normal daily activity - gardening, cleaning, marketing,
cooking, laundry, ironing, people service, etc. PLUS packing,
moving, unpacking, cleaning and scrubbing and painting 4000
sq. ft. of the new house and garage, while still keeping up
my daily domestics.
*
*Then SUDDENLY, I couldn't lift the laundry basket, I
couldn't finish painting the laundry room, I couldn't make
the bed, I couldn't lift a pot, I couldn't lift my arms. I
was drawn to just curl up and rest throughout most days. My
work piled up and while my mind made plans my body couldn't
keep up. Simultaneously my right arm went into constant
agonizing pain and I thought I had dislocated my shoulder.
**So, I started my march through the medical specialists and
ended up being treated for CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome),
unnecessary inflammation and unfriendly bacteria - since July
2007. Yet, while on the treatment - I was still fatigued and
actually feeling worse every day - not typical of others on
the protocol. And where others quickly lost surplus weight -
I was gaining weight as if my body needed even more padding
to protect me from something.
*
*Intermingled with my back-tracking, it just happened that
James needed to dispose of a 'curly energy saving fluorescent
light bulb' and found out that they cannot be disposed of in
the garbage DUE TO THE MERCURY CONTENT. In searching the
internet for directions he discovered SOME SHOCKING NEWS that
showed the ENORMOUS DANGER POSED BY THESE BULBS.
**I was NEVER drawn to them in the first place (instinct) and
always opposed having them being installed in the house. And
while I justified my instinct to be because of the glaring
unpleasant light they give off - I NOW realize that there was
something more sinister occurring that triggered my 'caution
signal'.
*
*But, James changed every lightbulb in our 4000 sq. ft. of
residence and installed CFLs (compact fluorescent lights)
into EVERY LIGHT SOCKET. He even special ordered a candelabra
type of bulb from the US to fit some fixtures. His mind had
been tricked into believing the energy/money saving
technology propaganda.
**He actually completed his installation of these new
government sanctioned energy saving bulbs as of December 2006
- ALMOST EXACTLY AT THE TIME I SUDDENLY BECAME SICK.
*
*Here we are 19 months later and the internet is teeming with
new STARTLING information about the DANGER posed by these
bulbs and the suggestion that many of them have a slow
mercury leak into their environment. Other testing shows that
once they have been initially used they continuously release
a toxin from the surface of the bulb whether on or off.
**On the weekend of 19/20JUL08 James removed every light bulb
in our home and replaced them with the old incandescent
bulbs. Immediately the ambiance of our home was softer and
more pleasant - AND the energy changed from intense and
friction-filled to palpable peaceful.We celebrated our
success for a few hours - but then we faced the worse part
when James took the over 30 dangerous, mercury emitting, used
CFLs to the disposal acceptance box at Ikea. As he dropped
each bulb individually through the small hole, he quickly
became sweaty (as if his body was reacting to something)
started coughing (choking), and experienced sudden runny nose
(as if the membrane inside his nose was sweating). By the
time we got home, he was experiencing severe muscle weakness
throughout his body and especially in his arms.
*
*It appears that when he dropped the bulbs off at the Ikea
disposal centre the air was so filled with mercury from
broken bulbs that he became contaminated - and despite him
wearing a mouth cover and rubber gloves while he exchanged
the bulbs at out home, and him stripping his clothes directly
into the washer - his body had become saturated and toxic at
the drop-off depot.
*
*Throughout the next day he was dead tired despite sleeping
late and resting in his chair most of Sunday. He was too ill
with sore throat, severe headache, nausea and all-body muscle
weakness to go to work on Monday or Tuesday and was home
early Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and into bed. He has
mostly recovered now due to filling himself with chelated
minerals of magnesium and calcium and taking lots of saunas
and showers.
*
*Despite his continued and conscientious effort to release
the toxins from his body - as he breathed, sneezed and
coughed into our common air space and I breathed the air - I
too got a runny nose, extremely sore throat, scratchy eyes,
dizziness and intense sharp pains in my forehead.
*
*It is now 02AUG08, and while the consequences of disposal
contamination are slowly wearing off and I am also taking
chelated minerals - I am a new person as far as my energy
return (or, might I say I am back to my old personage). I can
carry the laundry up and down the stairs without having to
take a rest midway. And I can carry several of those in one
day and even within one hour. And I do not feel attacked in
every room - AND all the pain in my right arm (the arm that
laid next to my lamp every night while I slept) has
completely disappeared.

[wholesale jewelry]

Thank you for your sharing.