What about the Mercury?

With the advent of the compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb 20 years ago, we embarked on a new generation of energy efficient technology and have not looked back. Now that many of these bulbs are being made in bulk and of lesser quality, they are not lasting the 10+ years the originals did. We can however expect about 5 years out of the average CFL bulb.

To reduce waste and maximize your purchase, I would recommend the following:

· Let your CFL burn for at least 1 hour the first time you put it in. This will make it burn brighter it entire life.
· Throw away all your incandescent bulbs and replace them with CFL bulbs. This will save you lots of money, even though it may be hard to bring yourself to do it.
· Recycle your CFL bulbs at Home Depot when they finally do burn out. It is free!

Many people are worried that each CFL bulb has trace amounts of mercury. I am too. But what you need to realize is, that 60% of our power comes not from hydro-electric, but coal. When we burn coal for power, mercury is one of the greatest pollutants from the process. By using the more energy efficient CFL bulbs, we prevent many times more mercury from being generated and thereby create a cleaner environment.

If you break a CFL, do not worry, do not call Hazmat, simply open your windows and use a damp paper towel to clean up the powder and simply dispose of the debris in your trash. There has been much misinformation recently about the dangers of broken CFL bulbs in the mainstream media, most of which sensationalized a trivial concern.

Don’t forget that together we can reduce our waste and “Trash Douglas County Less!”