By Tony Wheeler
Staff Writer

Energy Star, a program designed with the intent of environmental protection, rates the bulb as the top of the line for environment savvy energy users. On its Web site, it claims, “If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than three million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.”

There are drawbacks, however. CFLs contain small amounts of mercury, which means consumers can’t just toss them in the trash like incandescent bulbs. Some people say you can dispose of them in sealed, doubled plastic bags, but that’s not a green solution.

This has come to light as a larger concern after President George Bush signed an energy bill in December 2007 instigating the phase out of the popular, cheaper incandescent bulbs.

Proper disposal of the new CFL is of growing concern. Recycling is the best option. However, there aren’t many recycling centers available. At some county hazardous waste collection sites, the cost is $1 per bulb to recycle CFLs.

Joel Ostroff, of the Macon County Solid Waste Department, said no current policy is in place for the bulbs. “We haven’t faced too many of them yet, but it will become a concern as they grow in popularity,” he said.

Ostroff said the county is considering a policy for what he expects to be a major influx of the bulbs. Under state law, fluorescent bulbs from a household may be disposed of in the landfill. Fluorescent bulbs and ballasts from commercial, industrial and institutional generators are banned from landfills.

“We’re going to have to deal with it. These new bulbs have more hazardous waste in them than the regular fluorescent ones,” he said.

Home Depot Inc. recently announced a program to begin recycling of CFL bulbs at all 1,973 stores across the U.S. Recycling has been implemented at the Home Depot in Clayton, Ga.

There was some question as to whether crossing state lines with the bulb would be allowed. “No, there is no problem with carrying the bulbs to Clayton,” Ostroff said. “As long as the bulbs are not broken. Once they are broken, they become hazardous waste, though, and then they cannot be carried into Georgia.”

If a CFL breaks, it cannot simply be swept up the same way incandescent bulbs are cleaned up because of its mercury. According to instructions from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, if a CFL bulb breaks, open windows and doors and walk out of the room for 15 minutes. Don’t vacuum. On hardwood floors, wear disposable rubber gloves and use cardboard or stiff paper to scoop up debris. Then clean the area with a damp paper towel. For rugs, use sticky tape to pick up any compact fluorescent bulb fragments and powder.

Place the debris and cleanup materials in sealed, doubled plastic bags. Recycle if possible.

After vacuuming the spot, remove the vacuum bag and seal it. Put that bag in a plastic bag, seal it and throw it away. Wash hands.

The bulbs are indeed growing in popularity. Last year, Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, surpassed their goal to sell 100 million compact fluorescent light bulbs in a year three months early.

Resources

www.consumerreports.org (search CFL)

www.energystar.gov (search CFL)

Find residential recycling centers for CFLs

http://www.lightbulbsdirect.com/

http://www.earth911.org/

http://www.lamprecycle.org/

800-CLEAN-UP (800-253-2687)

http://www.sylvania.com/ (Pay $15 for a 15-bulb recycling kit. Once the slots are filled, mail it for recycling, postage paid.)

Compact fluorescents vs. incandescent bulbs

Average price: $2.50 vs. 50 cents
Average lifespan: 6,000 hours vs. 1,000 hours
Average electrical bill savings per CFL: $30 over its lifetime
Sources: Energy Star, Consumer Reports. Prices based
on equivalent 60-watt incandescent bulbs and 13-watt CFL