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| Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald (click to enlarge)
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| You can dispose of mercury-laden CFLs properly for free or for a small fee in Snohomish County. |
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CFLs have a dirty, little not-so-secret: Mercury
Posted
at
1:49 pm
by Sarah Jackson
Compact fluorescent light bulbs or CFLs, as I was reminded by this story today, have a major ecological downside: You can't — shouldn't, really — throw them in the trash when they eventually burn out.
They contain small amounts of mercury, a toxic metal that is essential for bulb efficiency but harmful to the environment when released from broken bulbs.
That means you can’t exactly throw them in your curbside recycling or drop them off at the grocery store either.
What to do?
First, you can take heart that LED bulbs will eventually replace CFLs when they become more affordable and available.
Second, I recommend starting a special box in the garage, clearly labeled, “Fragile! Hazardous!” In that box, put a gallon-size Ziploc bag and fill it with your burnt-out CFLs. When you get about 10 collected, consider one of these local disposal options:
*Many lighting and hardware stores will recycle small quantities of bulbs free, in exchange for the purchase of a new bulb, or for a small fee, typically less than $1 per bulb.
*Seattle Lighting: 1811 Hewitt Ave., Everett; 425-252-4154; www.seattlelighting.com; will recycle bulbs from residential customers for 50 cents per bulb for up to 20 bulbs.
*IKEA, 600 SW 43rd St., Renton; 425-656-2980; www.ikea-usa.com; accepts any brand of CFL bulbs free for recycling. Tube fluorescent lights are not accepted.
*Snohomish County Solid Waste accepts fluorescent tubes and CFLs from residents for free at the Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Station, 3434 McDougall Ave., Everett, one block east of Broadway; 425-388-6050. Residents can recycle up to 12 bulbs at a time at the county's recycling and transfer stations in Everett, Arlington and Mountlake Terrace and at drop boxes in Oso, Gold Bar, Granite Falls, Snohomish and Sultan.
Click here for the full details.
If you accidentally break a CFL, open a window and leave the room for at least 15 minutes, then visit www.energystar.gov and search for "broken CFL" or call 888-782-7937 for proper disposal instructions.
Gook luck!
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