CFLs burn bright until they alight in a landfill
Published: July 22, 2008
By LAURA RUGGERI
Of the News-Register
A little-known fact: On Dec. 17, 2007, Congress effectively banned sale of incandescent light bulbs in the United States by setting an efficiency standard they can't meet. The phaseout is slated to commence in 2012 with 100-watt bulbs and wrap in 2014 with 40-watters.
The replacement Congress has in mind, of course, is the compact fluorescent, known as the CFL. But it mixes a couple of disadvantages with its advantages.
While a CFL consumes only a fraction of the energy of an incandescent, it incorporates a dab of highly toxic mercury so can't just be tossed into the trash when it burns out. And while a CFL lasts many times as long as a conventional incandescent, it does eventually burn out.
That is now beginning to create the underpinnings of a recycling program.
The Home Depot home improvement chain will accept used CFLs for recycling at no charge via its returns department. The nearest outlets for local residents are in Sherwood and Salem.
Meanwhile, Waste Management Inc. has announced a Think Green recycling program featuring greater convenience at a price.
The nation's largest waste disposal firm, which operates the Riverbend Landfill in McMinnville, is hawking disposal kits for $14.95 through its Think Green website - www.thinkgreen fromhome.com. Each will handle 10 to 15 bulbs, lasting the typical homeowner many years.
The kit features a Mercury VaporLok bag that comes in a box with pre-paid return postage affixed. The homeowner dumps burned-out bulbs into the bag until it's full, drops the bag into the box and ships the box to a Waste Management reprocessing facility in Minnesota.
The bag is designed to keep the mercury from escaping, should a bulb break during storage or shipment to the center. At the center, the bulbs are disassembled so their components can be recycled.
Waste Management is also offering kits for disposal of fluorescent tubes and mercury batteries. It is developing a kit for cellphones and other small electronic items as well.
Intact, CFL bulbs are fine. But if they break, they can expose people to dangerous levels of mercury, with young children being especially vulnerable.
Waste Management's landfills are all lined.
However, Jennifer Andrews, the company's director of communications, said it's still not a good idea for broken bulbs to end up in the landfill, as exposure could result. For that reason, California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin have formally outlawed introduction of CFLs into the ordinary waste stream.
Compact fluorescents use only about one-quarter as much energy as Thomas Edison's venerable incandescent. And they last up to 10 times longer.
Congress mandated the CFL changeover via the 822-page Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. It was ferried to Pennsylvania Avenue for the president's Dec. 18 signature in a Toyota Prius hybrid.
However, the United States is not leading the parade on that score. That honor goes to Australia, which has mandated a total phaseout by 2010.
