Green Myth Busting: Mercury and CFLs

Message

   There are many questions, and myths... about Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs. For instance, is the mercury in these bulbs harmful to you health? What if they break? And recently someone at the green festival in McKinney asked, "Where do I recycle my bulbs?" 

Here is information I have found: I recently read about an IKEA store in Sacramento, CA that recycle CFL's. ..."
IKEA’s CFL Take-Back Program Keeps Mercury Out of Landfills. At the West Sacramento IKEA store, visitors can recycle their compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs for free at the Recycling Center conveniently located at the Returns and Exchanges desk in the store. The West Sacramento outlet is among the 29 US IKEA stores offering the CFL take back program. The program is extended globally to all IKEA outlets worldwide and is intended to help end-of-life management of the mercury-containing CFLs.
So I called IKEA in FRISCO... and YES, they also Recycle CFL's. Located at the front of the Store.
IKEA Frisco 

Address
7171 IKEA Drive
Frisco, Tx 75034
Telephone
972-712-4532

Green Myth Busting: Mercury and CFLs
Full Article at Green Options:
During our energy unit, I had a student tell me that her family was going to install compact fluorescent bulbs in their home, but they were worried about the mercury. Huh? I hadn't heard anything about this, and I had been using CFLs for years. I decided to investigate further.
Imagine my surprise when I learned that mercury exposure is a common misconception when it comes to CFLs. Fortunately, these myths are easily debunked.

Treehugger Pops the "$2,000 Broken CFL Cleanup Bill" Myth Read Article Here
CFL Light Bulbs In Texas - Not The Brightest Idea?

Read Article Here EZine Articles
The U.S. government has no single recycling plan in mind. Among the alternatives are special curbside collections by municipalities, mail-back programs by manufacturers and drop-off programs at various places, including retail stores that sell CFLs, he said.
As technology advances, however, mercury could become less of an issue, at least as far as light bulbs are concerned. Last month General Electric Co. said it was working on doubling the energy efficiency of incandescent lights and eventually developing versions comparable with CFLs. These bulbs, which the company hopes to begin marketing in 2010, will cost less than fluorescents but they won't last as long.
Meanwhile, some environmentally minded consumers in Dallas, Houston and throughout Texas are embracing CFLs and doing their best to dispose of them responsibly.
All Things Considered - NPR
Read Article Here

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency program concedes that not enough has been done to urge people to recycle CFL bulbs and make it easier for them to do so...The only retailer that I know of that is recycling is IKEA," she says, referring to the Swedish-owned furniture chain store.

Author	Message
admin Admin Group Joined: 31 Dec 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 149	Topic: What about the Mercury in CFL's? Posted: 03 May 2007 at 12:47pm
	There are many questions, and myths... about Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs. For instance, is the mercury in these bulbs harmful to you health? What if they break? And recently someone at the green festival in McKinney asked, "Where do I recycle my bulbs?" Here is information I have found: I recently read about an IKEA store in Sacramento, CA that recycle CFL's. ..." IKEA’s CFL Take-Back Program Keeps Mercury Out of Landfills. At the West Sacramento IKEA store, visitors can recycle their compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs for free at the Recycling Center conveniently located at the Returns and Exchanges desk in the store. The West Sacramento outlet is among the 29 US IKEA stores offering the CFL take back program. The program is extended globally to all IKEA outlets worldwide and is intended to help end-of-life management of the mercury-containing CFLs. So I called IKEA in FRISCO... and YES, they also Recycle CFL's. Located at the front of the Store. IKEA Frisco Address 7171 IKEA Drive Frisco, Tx 75034 Telephone 972-712-4532 Green Myth Busting: Mercury and CFLs Full Article at Green Options: During our energy unit, I had a student tell me that her family was going to install compact fluorescent bulbs in their home, but they were worried about the mercury. Huh? I hadn't heard anything about this, and I had been using CFLs for years. I decided to investigate further. Imagine my surprise when I learned that mercury exposure is a common misconception when it comes to CFLs. Fortunately, these myths are easily debunked. Treehugger Pops the "$2,000 Broken CFL Cleanup Bill" Myth Read Article Here CFL Light Bulbs In Texas - Not The Brightest Idea? Read Article Here EZine Articles The U.S. government has no single recycling plan in mind. Among the alternatives are special curbside collections by municipalities, mail-back programs by manufacturers and drop-off programs at various places, including retail stores that sell CFLs, he said. As technology advances, however, mercury could become less of an issue, at least as far as light bulbs are concerned. Last month General Electric Co. said it was working on doubling the energy efficiency of incandescent lights and eventually developing versions comparable with CFLs. These bulbs, which the company hopes to begin marketing in 2010, will cost less than fluorescents but they won't last as long. Meanwhile, some environmentally minded consumers in Dallas, Houston and throughout Texas are embracing CFLs and doing their best to dispose of them responsibly. All Things Considered - NPR Read Article Here The head of the Environmental Protection Agency program concedes that not enough has been done to urge people to recycle CFL bulbs and make it easier for them to do so...The only retailer that I know of that is recycling is IKEA," she says, referring to the Swedish-owned furniture chain store.
	IP Logged

Eyewatch on Greenwash
North Texas Society for Sustainability :The S.O.S Series! :Eyewatch on Greenwash