{"id":2437,"date":"2007-10-01T01:33:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-01T01:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sustainablog.greenoptions.com\/2007\/10\/01\/lighter-footstep-how-to-recycle-cfls\/"},"modified":"2007-10-01T01:33:00","modified_gmt":"2007-10-01T01:33:00","slug":"lighter-footstep-how-to-recycle-cfls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/lighter-footstep-how-to-recycle-cfls\/","title":{"rendered":"Lighter Footstep: How to Recycle CFLs"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a> If you’re the sort of person who reads articles like this, you probably think pretty much everyone knows about CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs) by now.<\/p>\n Think again. Despite widespread availability and dramatically lower prices — name brand CFL bulbs go for about two dollars these days — CFL adoption in the United States remains around 6 percent<\/a>. The rate is much higher in Europe and parts of Asia. Still, in the largest single consumer market in the world, CFL awareness remains in single digits. Contrast this with a recent survey suggesting up to 34 percent of all Americans believe in UFOs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mercury in CFLs<\/p>\n It’s not unreasonable to think that even fewer people know CFLs contain mercury. A small amount, sure: the National Electrical Manufacturers Association recently capped 25 watt CFLs at 5 milligrams per bulb<\/a>. But as adoption rates rise, so does the importance of sending CFLs to a recycler, rather than the landfill.<\/p>\n Herein lies the problem. While retailers such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot have exhibited environmental leadership by bringing CFLs to market, they’ve been far less forthcoming in taking them back. CFLs can last three to five years under normal use, which means the vast majority of bulbs ever sold are still in service. By 2010, however, The U.S. could be looking at 80 to 100 million improperly disposed CFLs annually<\/a> if people don’t know any better and convenient recycling isn’t available. That would represent an intolerable toxic burden to our current methods of waste disposal.<\/p>\n CFL Recycling Options<\/p>\n A issue of this size won’t be solved by individual action alone. But if each of us take the initiative to identify our local CFL recycling options now, we can start the process of educating friends and family before their efficient new CFLs are ready for disposal. Want to give it a try? Here are a few places to check:<\/p>\n Your Local Garbage Service<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Municipal Government<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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. Unless you bought CFLs from Ikea, one of the first major vendors to offer a free take-back program<\/a>, 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 goods they purchase. If you bought your CFLs from Wal-Mart, consider contacting their corporate headquarters<\/a> and asking that they establish a company wide CFL return program.<\/p>\n Earth 911 Commercial Services<\/p>\n
\nJeff says: For the combination of price and efficiency, you can’t beat compact fluorescent lightbulbs. Yet, the do present an end-of-life challenge with the tiny amount of mercury present in the bulbs. Chris Baskind, editor at Lighter Footstep<\/a>, and founder of the Vida Verde collective, has some tips for safe disposal of these bulbs once they burn out.<\/p>\n
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\nEarth 911<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n