Friday, July 20, 2007

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Monday, July 16, 2007

What about the Mercury in fluorescent lamps?

Earlier this year I broke a fluorescent light bulb while packing up my display from my talk to the Ogilvie United Methodist Women. Sharon help me put the broken glass in an empty Pringles can. That can is is sitting under my kitchen sink. Yesterday my husband was helping clean because we were having company. He opened the can and saw the broke glass.
I feel guilty because I still haven't taken this to the hazardous waste disposal site in my town which is WLSSD in Duluth.

Click here for PDF on CFLs and disposal in Duluth area

The Western Lake Superior Sanitary
District (WLSSD) provides free recycling
for residential fluorescent bulbs at its
Household Hazardous Waste Facility at 27th
Avenue West and Courtland Street, Duluth,
MN. You may drop off household bulbs and
tubes during open hours. Businesses should
ask about WLSSD’s Clean Shop Program.


Do any of you have this problem? Have you broken a cfl bulb? What did you do with the broken glass...and Mercury?

Do you know where in your town to dispose of it...and do you tell yourself it is not worth the trip?

Please email me and tell me if you think the cfls are worth it.


This article is from the about.com website

Compact Fluorescent Lamps: Health Hazard or Environmental Benefit?
From Larry West,Your Guide to Environmental Issues.Stay up to date!
Recycling CFL mercury a small price to pay for energy, cost and health savings
One of the brightest strategies for everyday household energy savings is using compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) in place of standard incandescent bulbs.
Unit for unit, compact fluorescent lamps cost more than the incandescent bulbs they replace, but they’re actually much more cost-effective. Because CFLs last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs and use only one quarter to one third as much energy, every CFL you use will save you about $30 over the life of the Click here to read the rest of article on about.com