What do you do with Used Fluorescent Light Bulbs?
by Afton DiSunno
Our East Hampton Recycling Center now takes fluorescent light bulbs! Fluorescent lighting is everywhere and is an energy-efficient choice that can help you reduce light bulb changes and lower greenhouse gas emissions. However, small amounts of mercury can be released into the environment when CFLs break or if they are improperly disposed of, so it is important to dispose of them properly. Using CFLs actually helps reduce total mercury emissions in the U.S. because of their significant energy savings, even though they contain some mercury. Energy-saving CFLs reduce demand for electricity, which reduces the amount of coal burned by power plants, which reduces emissions of mercury when coal is burned.
You can recycle your light bulbs at East Hampton’s Recycling Center, 260 Springs Fireplace Road, at the covered household recycling area at the end of the recycling buildings (before the clothing bins): there you can recycle waste oil, batteries and fluorescent light bulbs! The Center is open for residential recycling daily 7 am to 5 pm (closed Wednesdays).
More about CFLs according to USEPA:
1. Using CFLs (and other fluorescent bulbs) reduces the amount of mercury released
Mercury is found in many rocks including coal. When coal is burned at a utility power plant to produce electricity, mercury is released into the environment. In the U.S., burning coal at power plants results in about half of all mercury emissions from man-made sources.
Using energy-efficient CFLs reduces demand for power, which in turn reduces the amount of coal burned by power plants and the amount of mercury emitted when coal is burned.
2. CFLs contain very small amounts of mercury
Mercury, an essential part of CFLs, allows a bulb to be an efficient light source. On average, CFLs contain about four milligrams of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. By comparison, older thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury – an amount equal to the mercury in over 100 CFLs.
Manufacturers of fluorescent light are working to reduce the amount of mercury content in CFLs. No mercury is released when the bulbs are intact (i.e., not broken) or in use, but broken CFLs can release mercury vapor.
Use this link to East Hampton Town Stop Days if you want more information.
http://www.townhampton.ny.us/DocumentsPDF/Sanitation/StopDays.pdf
And look into LED lighting! It’s longer lasting and uses no mercury!
