CFL Added to Earth911 Database
A monumental amount of attention has been paid to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), but what happens when these bulbs eventually burn out?
CFLs should not be thrown in the trash since they contain traces of mercury, a neurotoxin with a bioaccumulative presence in the environment. To help keep this toxin out of landfills and local water supplies, you can use Earth911′s recycling locator to find places to recycle your CFLs.
Most facilities that accept fluorescent bulbs or traditional tubes will accept CFLs. You can also use the recycling locator to find other mercury items, such as mercury containing thermostats.
As of June 17th 2011 we have upgraded our comment system to use Facebook comments. The below comments are closed and are listed for historical purposes.
Ellen
posted on January 21st, 2009 at 2:55 am
Is something missing in the second sentence?
Jennifer Berry
posted on January 21st, 2009 at 9:21 am
Hi Ellen,
Thanks so much for your great catch. We’ve filled in the “holes” above so no one else need discover that hilarious error.
Take care!
Jennifer
Pete
posted on September 8th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
where is the mercury in the bulb? If the bulb breaks, do we risk releasing the mercury?
Sally
posted on October 18th, 2009 at 5:47 am
I am on board with doing as much as possible to recycle, save energy, live healthier but after reading what you need to do if you break a CFL in your home, I decided that I would not buy another CFL until that was solved. I’m convinced that most people throw them away and they are extremely dangerous when broken. The article said that if you break a CFL, you need to open doors and windows, discard any clothing in sealed plastic bags that may get contaminated in the cleanup, keep children and small animals out of the area for hours…it was really eye opening. How many people know this?
jo
posted on November 12th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I wish more television networks would publish this info on the safeguards that are needed when a cfl gets broken. It worries me that most people don’ t have a clue on how dangerous they are when broken or improperly disposed of.
Going Green Made Easy « Sustainable Future
posted on February 3rd, 2010 at 6:45 am
[...] your incandescent light bulbs stop working, replace them with the new, energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) CFLs use 2/3 less energy than [...]
Arnie Weston
posted on June 9th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Don’t trust CFL bulb recyclers. How about this health hazard at my local Home Depot — I took photos of smashed bulbs in the CFL recycling bin there. The bin is right next to a pregnant clerk’s cash register, by the way. I calmly spoke to the store manager and was angrily told to leave the store. The CFL recycling bin had no sealable bags in the dispenser. All the bulbs in the bin were already broken when I went to place my wrapped CFL’s in it. This exposes customers and store workers to mercury vapor. I contacted the County Environmental Protection Department and the Home Depot Headquarters. Months later, nothing has changed. The other Home Depot in my area is the same. My CFL’s only last about twice as long as their equivalent standard bulbs. I’m not even saving energy or money. Using a Kill A Watt energy meter, I discovered that because I turn my lights off when I leave a room, CFL’s use more energy than incandescent for short use.