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5 ways to dispose of old CFLs
Compact fluorescent light bulbs are a slam dunk when it comes to saving energy, but they contain mercury. Here's how to safely dispose of them.
Mon, Mar 15 2010 at 12:50 PM
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ENERGY SAVER: Let there be energy-efficient light. (Photo: Robert S. Donovan/Flickr)
By now, green technology early adopters know that LED (light emitting diode) lighting is the future. Take, for example, the 100 watt incandescent light bulb. An equivalent LED bulb would only draw 10 watts — and could easily last 60,000 hours. That's an astonishing energy savings.
But let's face it: $25 light bulbs are still a hard sell, even if they'll recoup many times their purchase price in the form of lower energy bills. That leaves the much cheaper CFL (compact fluorescent lightbulb) as efficiency champ until consumers get over the sticker shock of LED bulbs.
CFLs are a good deal. Shoppers have gotten used to seeing their curly shape on store shelves, and adoption rates have really taken off. About 100 million were sold in the United States last year.
But there's a catch: CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, which is toxic and tough to get out of the environment. CFL bulbs don't belong in your regular trash when they finally burn out. So what to do with them?
We've rounded up five ways (plus a backup plan) to handle retired CFL bulbs without making a mess of the environment. Pick the one that's easiest for you — and feel good about saving on your power bill.
1) Your local garbage service
Probably the best place to start is with whoever currently picks up your household trash or recyclables. If you pay for this service, you'll almost certainly find a customer service number on your bill. Give them a call and ask if they offer CFL or mercury recycling. If not, politely suggest they do so. Here's an opportunity to write a letter, attend a meeting or take some other activist role in highlighting the importance of proper CFL disposal. The appropriate follow-up will depend on whether your trash service is privately or publicly held.
2) Municipal government
Whether or not local trash service is provided by a private contractor, your local municipality (city, county or parish) is ultimately responsible for waste disposal.
Most phone directories have a "blue pages" directory of local government agencies. Try the listing for sanitation services. While curbside recycling is by no means universal, your area may have designated drop-off locations or periodic CFL collections. Should your local agency not have any CFL-specific provisions, ask about safe disposal of mercury or fluorescent tubes.
3) Retailers
Unless you bought CFLs from Ikea, one of the first major vendors to offer a free take-back program, you're probably going to get some blank stares when you ask the manager of your local store about CFL recycling. It's worth the effort, though: retailers need to know their customers want safe disposal of the good they purchase. If you bought your CFLs from Walmart, consider contacting their corporate headquarters and asking that they establish a company wide CFL-return program.
4) Earth 911
Earth 911 is probably the United States and Canada's largest online clearinghouse of recycling information. Visit their site and enter "CFL" and your ZIP code in the "Find a Recycling Center" field at the top of each page. Alternately, try "mercury" and "fluorescent bulbs." If there's something in your region, it will almost certainly be listed. Earth 911 is currently attempting to expand its coverage to Europe, the first step toward an international registry of recycling options.
5) Commercial services
There are a variety of for-profit companies that provide CFL and fluorescent bulb disposal by mail. Failing a local option, these firms represent a responsible and environmentally friendly channel for CFL recycling. Lightbulbrecycling.com, for instance, will send you a handy, postage-paid plastic pail which will accommodate about 30 CFLs — more than most homes will use in many years. Just drop your spent CFLs in their well-engineered pail, and call FedEx for pick-up. The downside is that the service is quite expensive: about $120 per shipment. At today's prices, this almost triples the unit price of your CFL. On the other hand, with the energy you'll save with each bulb, you're still ahead of the game. You'll also know for sure that your CFLs are being recycled in a safe fashion.
And one more thing …
If none of these options are available to you, there's a backup plan: storage.
As their name suggests, compact fluorescent bulbs don't take up much room. Unless they're broken or otherwise damaged, CFLs will hold their mercury indefinitely. Rather than disposing of them with household trash, simply store expended CFLs until easy recycling is available in your area. A five-gallon PVC bucket with sealable top can be scrounged from most construction sites or purchased new for less than $10. It should safely contain a couple dozen bulbs. A sturdy cardboard box lined with a heavy plastic garbage bag should also do the trick. Just place your CFL storage container out of harm's way so it won’t be dropped, crushed or otherwise disturbed.
Update: Home Depot has become the largest U.S. retailer to launch a general CFL recycling program. Almost 2,000 Home Depot locations will now accept any type of CFL for recycling without charge. Canada's Home Depot stores began a CFL recycling program in November 2007.
Copyright Lighter Footstep 2007
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Go ahead and toss that funny light bulb under the sink-you've just committed a felony, disposing of hazardous waste in municipal trash. All CFL's must be recycled by an EPA licensed facility. In some cases, you will have to pay more to recycle the bulb than it cost to buy it. And that's just the beginning-soon sniffers on garbage trucks will identify the mercury vapor in your trashcan and alert the EPA, with fines and imprisonment to follow.
Again the governments telling us what we can and cannot do. The incandescent bulb is being phased out and we are forced to buy what they deem is right. CFL's will in the long run, give us more of a problem with the excess of mercury leaching into our water supplies. I also agree with Realistic's comment. I intend to purchase a lot of incandescent bulbs before they are all gone.
Well, there is always candle and fire...just saying.
Today January 2011, I went to Home Depot to recycle 6-foot long fluorescent light bulbs (kitchen light) and I was told in near future they will not accept that type of CFC bulbs. However, they still accept the compact one like those showed in the picture above
Since when was a 6 foot flourescent bulb a compact flourescent?
Not to mention, the long flourescents DO NOT HAVE MERCURY! They are filled with a gas and the ballast ignites the gas. These bulbs can be thrown in the trash just like a regular light bulb.
CFLs are a good deal. Shoppers have gotten used to seeing their curly shape on store shelves, and adoption rates have really taken off. About 100 million were sold in the United States last year.
But there’s a catch: CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, which is toxic and tough to get out of the environment. CFL bulbs don’t belong in your regular trash when they finally burn out. So what to do with them?
where did you get this fact that 100 million were sold in the US, I am doing a research paper and would really like to use this as a piece of factual information, if it can be cited correctly.
In 2007 the according to the EPA: Approximately 300 million CFLs were sold in the US. http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazard/wastemin/minimize/trend10/sec2.pdf
Fewer were sold in 2010... but that may be because of lifespan of the lightbulbs or other factors. http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/downloads/meetings/2010/CFLMarketS...
Mail them all to Congress. On earth day everyone needs to mail all thier saved CFL bulbs to Congress.
I have to pay 50 cents a bulb to recycle them AND I have to drive out of my way to take them to the place to recycle them! It is good for the energy companies but not consumers!
Also the CFLs do NOT last as long as they say.
If you break on in your home you must go through a process to clean it up! It is hazardous. Check out the "energy star" website on how you are supposed to do that! It is ridiculous.
I'm hording incandescent bulbs until the LED technology improves.
I am a Home Depot employee and we ONLY (BOLD, UPPERCASE, ITALICS, UNDERLINED ONLY) recycle the swirley CFL's. No tubes of any size or shape as they are not CFL's; nor do we recycle the CFL flood lights or round shaped bulbs only the bared cfl swirley bulbs. Sorry, but we at least take those Wal-mart doesn't take any. We also recycle your old lithium power tool batteries in our tool departments.
CFL's is really save energy. Because breaking is not problem. I can agree the Luciana posting.
These thinks are crap becaus ethey are now burung out and because the lifetime is not waw was advertised in no way did they save me any money on engery cost also I have no local place to get rid of them and no oone provides a free mail service so I am just going to throw them in the trash
I keep my receipts for things I buy at Home Depot and other such places. I have taken back CFLs that did not last as guaranteed and gotten a replacement. Some CFLs do flunk out of the guarantee - but I have found that most of them do perform as they are guaranteed.
ALSO - HOME DEPOT WILL DISPOSE OF OLD CFLs FOR FREE !!!
The closest home depot to me is a 2 hour drive over 2 passes that are bad to drive in winter months, to a town that I really never have reason to go to. How much gas and time will be spent to recycle a few lightbulbs?
We will be in our new house now for 3 years. In that time I have changed 2 light bulbs ( both in the same lamp). All bulbs in our 2700 square fooot house are incandescent. I'm sorry but I'm not seeing the benefit of the CFL's...even if Home Depot recycles them for free!
Thanks for the additional info.
I have been using CFL's since they first came out but am about to change my ways. It takes energy to produce the CFL's, energy to get them to the shelf and more to move them to my home where they quickly burn out. They cost more than the standard incandescent but don't last half as long and many provide less than adequate lighting. I'm ready to try the LED's which should drop in price as volume increases.
GE has all their crap made in China
I have been using CFL's since they first came out but am about to change my ways. It takes energy to produce the CFL's, energy to get them to the shelf and more to move them to my home where they quickly burn out. They cost more than the standard incandescent but don't last half as long and many provide less than adequate lighting. I'm ready to try the LED's which should drop in price as volume increases.
It's not just fluorescents that people are lazy about. its all recycling in general. the industries are not educating consumers well enough, and not making recycling a "brainless" activity to participate in. Instead, people have to request pamphlets or call hotlines to get information about recycling. There should be clear instructions on all recycling bins and recyclable products. Not just a number with arrows around it.
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