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17
2007
Dealing with Fluorescent Tubes
Filed in: Energy, Waste & RecyclingReader Question
Hello Ashley,
Since we are all being encouraged to use fluorescent bulbs at home, now that I have one that has worn out, what is the best way to dispose of it? Am I correct that there is a small amount of mercury (or something toxic) in the coating inside the glass?
Many thanks,
Julia
Ashley's Answer
Dear Julia,
As we move from bickering over whether or not humans are contributing to climate change to what’s going to be done about it, we often find ourselves in situations where we are choosing among the lesser of two evils. Coal or Nuclear? Paper or plastic? Greater energy use or mercury contamination? That said you can be rest assured that the move toward fluorescent lighting has helped reduce energy use and consequently greenhouse gas emissions, as well as mercury in our environment.
The reduced energy component is easy since fluorescent lighting is roughly 80% more efficient than the incandescent equivalent. Less energy used, especially in Alberta where most of its electricity is produced from coal, means less greenhouse gases. The energy savings is a no-brainer but how can there be less mercury in the environment when fluorescent bulbs contain mercury and incandescent bulbs don’t? The answer lies in the fact that Alberta’s coal plants are responsible for 90 per cent of the province’s mercury emissions. Less electricity used means less coal burning and therefore less mercury in the environment. But should we not be worried about the mercury in the bulbs though? Absolutely!
In fact, the worries that mercury created prompted the government of Alberta to institute a voluntary fluorescent tube recycling program on February 1, 2001. Several years after the program was initiated, Alberta’s Ministry of the Environment found that only 2% of the six million bulbs discarded in the province were being recycled. This is troubling since the 23 milligrams of mercury found in a standard fluorescent tube has the potential to contaminate 30,000 liters of water. Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) contain less mercury - roughly 4 milligrams per bulb. This reality impelled a number of American states to institute an outright ban on fluorescent tubes and bulbs. While recycling has become the norm for many U.S. jurisdictions, this is a far cry from what residents in Calgary are being told to do. The response I received from one City of Calgary 3-1-1 operator was to place compact fluorescent bulbs in with regular household waste, while standard four foot fluorescent tubes needed to be wrapped in cardboard, placed in a green plastic garbage bag and marked “glass” to ensure worker safety. Seriously!
So the answer to your question is to put your fluorescent bulbs in the landfill until something gives. And while Albertan’s are waiting for legislation to come down the pipe, and trust me there are rumblings, I guess we wait in the beautiful light of our compact fluorescents knowing that we have made the right choice by swapping out those blasted incandescents. On the upside, CFLs last roughly 5 years, so perhaps when the time comes to replace your burnt out bulbs the Albertan government will have been shaken into action by the countless letters that this column has inspired.
(For more information, please go to The Unusuals: Recycling Taken to The Next Level)
Hesitantly,
Ashley
Ashley Lubyk, BSc. in Environmental Science, is the founder of the Healthy Homes program at Green Calgary. Please send your environmental questions to Ashley.