Recycle CFLs from the Comfort of Your Home

Residential customers can easily recycle CFLs from home by using RECYCLEPAK containers from Veolia Environmental Services. The RECYCLEPAK program allows customers to order a CFL recycling kit online, including the recycling container, a protective polyliner, instructions, and prepaid return shipping to Veolia. Once the container is filled with old CFLs, the customer can now mail the package back to Veolia via a USPS office or any USPS letter carrier. Learn more here.

A standard CFL RECYCLEPAK holds 12 small and 6-8 medium sized CFLs and costs $15-$20. However, Veolia also offers a variety of container options including a "community pail" which can hold up to 50lbs of CFL bulbs and costs $80.

For more information or to order a RECYCLEPAK, visit Sylvania* or Veolia ES.

*If you are looking to purchase new CFLs to replace the old, Sylvania is currently offering a $1 off coupon toward the purchase of Sylvania Energy Star CFLs. Visit their site and click on the coupon icon to redeem the savings.

CFLs Reduce Mercury Pollution--But It's Important to Recycle Them

Unlike standard light bulbs, CFLs contain a tiny amount of mercury, a toxic pollutant. But as households switch to the more efficient bulbs, we're actually reducing the amount of mercury released into our environment. This is because coal-fired power plants emit four times as much mercury as they generate the electricity needed for a standard bulb. The EPA's Energy Star program states: "A coal-fired power plant will emit 13.6 milligrams of mercury to produce electricity required to use an incandescent light bulb, compared to 3.3 milligrams for a CFL."

But wait. Are these bulbs safe to use around the house? Energy Star say yes. A CFL does not release any mercury unless it's broken and even then, the amount is miniscule--about 1% of the amount of mercury found in an old-fashioned thermometer. According to Energy Star: "Research indicates that there is no immediate health risk to you or your family should a bulb break and it’s cleaned up properly." The best way to clean up a broken bulb is to sweep up the pieces, wipe the area with a damp paper towel and then discard the glass shards and the towel in a sealed plastic bag. Learn more.

However, thousands or millions of discarded bulbs in a landfill could cause a real environmental problem, with subsequent health risks, so it is important to recycle CFLs. The bulbs last about seven years, but when one does burn out, look for a recycling program. It shouldn't be too hard to find. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality advises: "Most all Virginia localities sponsor some sort of “household hazardous wastes” collection days. Many others will even collect HHW year round. Almost of all of these HHW facilities and events will take fluorescent lamps for recycling. " Learn more.

Finding CFLs for Dimmers, Recessed Lighting, Etc

I'm sure there's some category of home lighting for which you can't find a CFL bulb, but so far I haven't run across it. Finding bulbs for more specialized applications such as dimmer switches or recessed lighting seems to be more of a question of looking harder and paying a few more dollars--although even the more expensive CFLs pay their way several times over.

PEC is encouraging people to shop at the businesses that are participating in Enlighten (see the list: http://enlightenva.org/) but if you can't find what you need at local stores www.bulbs.com seems to have everything. On that site, the bulbs are cheaper the more you buy. A number of people have let me know that they'd be interested in going in with others on bulk orders. If you're one of them, comment on this blog to let other people know.

Can I get great light from a CFL?

In a January 2 article about compact fluorescent light bulbs, The New York Times suggests that the energy efficient bulbs "are to the nation’s energy problem what vegetables are to its obesity epidemic: a near perfect answer, if only Americans could be persuaded to swallow them."

At $2-3 a bulb, CFL's aren't prohibitively expensive anymore, especially if you consider how much they save on electric bills. The new genereration of bulbs comes in a wide variety of shapes and color ranges. You can find CFL's that work with dimmer switches. And unlike the first CFL's, the new bulbs turn on right away. Still, some people aren't too sure about them.

The Times article sums up the pros and cons like this: "A compact fluorescent has clear advantages over the widely used incandescent light — it uses 75 percent less electricity, lasts 10 times longer, produces 450 pounds fewer greenhouse gases from power plants and saves consumers $30 over the life of each bulb. But it is eight times as expensive as a traditional bulb, gives off a harsher light and has a peculiar appearance."

I use CFL bulbs throughout my own house, the light suits me fine, and I appreciate the savings. But then again, I also like vegetables. And since PEC launched Enlighten, a number of people have contacted me about the particular qualities of light from CFL bulbs--about ways that it affects their mood or the aesthetics of their home or office. If CFL bulbs are like vegetables, these people want to find the best, organic produce.

For instance, I've learned that "daylight-balanced" CFL's are available for people who are sensitive to the shortage of sunlight in winter or just enjoy the qualities of fuller-spectrum light. These are more expensive, but I'm told they're worth it. If you can't find what you're looking for in local stores, you might be able to locate it online: www.bulbs.com carries a pretty impressive variety.

Since Enlighten got started, people have gotten in touch with me wanting to know how they can find the best bulbs for them. I'm hoping that as folks experiment with CFL's, they can use this blog to share their knowledge and experience, so more of us can get great light while using less energy.