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5 Ways to Recycle a CFL

lighterfootstep.com — Despite widespread availability and dramatically lower prices -- name brand CFL bulbs go for about two dollars these days -- CFL adoption in the United States remains around 6 percent. The rate is much higher in Europe and parts of Asia. Still, in the largest single consumer market in the world, CFL awareness remains in single digits. Contrast this

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  • seanthebond, on 10/10/2007, -7/+39I though CFL= Canadian Football League.
    • graemee, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2Same, damn shame too. I wanted to know how they were going to recycle the NFL recycle.
    • cbrunet, on 10/10/2007, -4/+1Ditto'd. I'm usually surprised to see anything sport + Canada related (see: ANY HOCKEY NEWS AT ALL) on digg.
    • ninsei, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3which incidentally also only has a 6% adoption rate ...
  • nepawoods, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3They're supposed to last, what ... five years? I've thrown out about a dozen that blew out in the last year or so.
    • grumpyrain, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11I have had 14 CFLs installed for over 2 1/2 years now in every fitting and lamp in our unit. None have blown in that time.
      • crapuccino, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8I have about 14 too. Well over 3 years and going strong.
      • Hellahulla, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2I have a similar experience with them, about 5 (small box apartment) and all but one have been in place for over 3 years, the one I mention blew twice in a space of 3 months, however the one I have in now has been there for 2 years. Checked the wiring and such, all seems in order, so I have no idea, maybe two bad ones in the same fitting (could happen, I suppose)
      • Thuktun, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2My wife and I built our current house in 1998. Shortly after that, we decided to switch to CFLs whenever we had the opportunity.

        I cannot remember having to replace a single CFL bulb yet! Some of those have been going for 7 years or so.

        Maybe he has bad wiring or poor electrical supply from the power company.
      • grumpyrain, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Yes, please note I am not denying nepawoods' experience. There are many reasons that this could have happened such as poor power supply or wiring. It is also possible if they were all purchased at the same time, it was perhaps a faulty batch, or if they are all the same brand then perhaps the brand has issues. I was simply offering a contrasting experience. I wouldn't say our power is perfect. In fact in the past 2 months we have had two major outages in the local area. I have had two 'broken' CFLs in that time, one I was a bit too keen to push into the fitting and it cracked, the other was in a lamp that fell over, but these were physical damage, not blown.
    • gak001, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6Do they get switched on and off frequently? I hear playing dance party with CFLs reduces longevity.
    • obrysii, on 10/10/2007, -3/+5It is your house, then. Poorly wired or poorly grounded fixtures kill CFLs easily. Or you are getting a lot of small, transient, surges down your wires.
    • johnn11238, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Also - make sure they are not hooked up to a dimmer switch. This will make a CFL blow in about 3 - 6 months.
      • Thuktun, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1There are allegedly dimmer switches that specifically support CFL bulbs, but we haven't tried them. The set of lights in our house that have dimmers use little bulbs that we haven't found a suitable CFL replacement for.
    • BelXul, on 10/10/2007, -5/+2You shouldn't simply throw those out. They contain mercury, which will eventually end up in the groundwater if tossed in the trash. They do need to be recycled.
      • cdahlkvist, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Wow. Thanks for reading the article. We appreciate your wise input.
      • dafragsta, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Which is the folly of man, represented all too well in the design of a friggin' light bulb! It's great! It uses less power, lasts longer, and costs only marginally more than a tungsten bulb, but we've got to count on people to do something they've never done EVER with enough commitment to keep them from poisoning themselves on the mercury within, they have to RECYCLE! OH NOES!
        • nepawoods, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2And it's not like my (or most any other) recycling center has a bin for CFLs.
          • Stratochief66, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Have you asked them to start one? Or you could bring your own box and get the ball rolling. You could also just store them as the article suggests, get a good number together and ask your neighbors to do the same so that they can all be recycled at once.
    • thcobbs, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6"They're supposed to last, what ... five years? I've thrown out about a dozen that blew out in the last year or so."

      Get your electrical system fixed. I bet you went through tons of regular bulbs too.
    • nepawoods, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Maybe it's my Tesla coil. I've got a filter in front of it, but you never know ...
  • jennamalia, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10One additional tip that may prevent you from needing to recycle your CFL quite as often is to only use CFL bulbs in situations where you won't be cycling the light on and off.
    I had a few bulbs burn out prematurely, until I discovered the following information from consumerreports.org:

    "And don't use CFLs in lights that are on for less than 15 minutes at a time, like closets. Frequent cycling shortens their life."
  • allaboutdatiki, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Some CFLs are just crappier than others. I installed a set of outdoor CFLs in recessed fixtures on my front porch and they've been golden. Did my basement lights, too. No change in years.
    But I've had to swap out a handful in my bathroom fixtures. Like Jenna mentioned, it's gotta be the on/off cycles that kill 'em.
    • Icetype, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Humidity kills them too. I used to have one in the shower part of my bathroom. After replacing it twice in a year, I figured it out. Other people I've talked to confirm it happened to them too.
  • aahpandasrun, on 10/10/2007, -9/+2Are those the bulbs that take like 10 seconds to warm up or whatever before they turn on? Ugh
    • nixonrichard, on 10/10/2007, -3/+15Your girlfriend must love you.
    • crapuccino, on 10/10/2007, -2/+11Older ones can take a while to warm up. Newer ones are much better.
      A whole 10 seconds to save ~49W of juice per room. For a house with 14 light fittings, that's 686W per house, and that's assuming only 60W incandescent bulbs. For those who feel they require operating-theatre levels of illumination, the savings are much higher.
      Those 10s must be really important to you to sacrifice the planet so easily on the altar of your inefficient tungsten element.
    • cdahlkvist, on 10/10/2007, -1/+310 seconds? Are you hand cranking a generator for your electricity? All my CFLs take almost no time to start. They give a flicker from dim to bright in less than a second.

      My outdoor ones take maybe a second to go full brightness but that is because they are much higher output.
  • paperfrog, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7> Are those the bulbs that take like 10 seconds to warm up or whatever before they turn on?
    No, modern CFLs are pretty much instant-on, with no flicker. They must reach their operational temperature to operate at their rated efficiency, which is why CFLs aren't big energy savers for quick on/off applications like closet lights. But you won't notice the warm-up period with the naked eye. Takes 30-60 seconds, depending on the bulb. They're pretty civilized.
    • Spetz, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Yup. Modern CFL technology has come a long way since the originals. Now they have an unjustified bad rep from people who tried the first generation and have dismissed them. There needs to be a way to turn these people back around. I've just succeeded in turning my parents around on the issue by buying and installing one and showing them how good they are now.
    • ipxodi, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Instant on, yes. But not instant Full-brightness. Even the newest ones I've purchased in the last year or so from Home Depot or Ikea still brighten noticeably during the first minute or so. I'd guess probably a good 20% change in light output.

      That's not to say they're bad in anyway -- I love 'em. But I do wish the dimmable ones were cheaper and more available since I have lots of dimmers in my house.
      • obrysii, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Sylvannia CFLs are nearly instant-on-full brightness. But it varies from bulb to bulb--a minorly defective ballast will still work, but take a while to brighten.
      • cdahlkvist, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2I've had varying luck with the Ikea ones. They are cheap but typically last 2 years. They seem to take a little extra time to go full brightness also.

        I've also been using the Sylvania CFLs. They have all gone 3+ years and they are near instantaneous brightness (as also stated by obrysii above).
    • gak001, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3My friend got a bunch of GE CFLs and they are virtually instant on (I think it says that they take .02 seconds) and the brightness is pretty powerful right away. His apartment is all CFLs. My mother has one that's kind of crappy and takes a couple of seconds to warm up. It all depends who you buy them from.
    • rockefeller2, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1"They must reach their operational temperature to operate at their rated efficiency, which is why CFLs aren't big energy savers for quick on/off applications like closet lights."

      I've tested CFLs with a Kill-A-Watt energy meter. They always consume the rated power. A 13 Watt bulb operates at 13 Watts right when you turn it on. So, even for quick on off applications, it will still save you money by using less power over time.

      You make it sound as if there is a massive inrush of current when you first turn it on, which offsets the steady state power consumption, but there isn't. I test it.
      • cdahlkvist, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1I don't think that is what he was implying at all. It seemed to me that he was saying it took a bit to go to full brightness (running optimal power/brightness) but it didn't consume more than the rated amount of current when first turned on.
  • SunFyre, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7The number one reason to switch to these lamps is... laziness! I hate changing bulbs, particularly the recessed bulbs in my kitchen that require a ladder, a screwdriver, and... well... effort. If you're lazy like me, get yourself a couple of dozen of these.
  • metric7, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7People are just gonna throw them in the trash, more mercury for us.
    • an0nymous, on 10/10/2007, -4/+2Forget the trash. Got kids? Break one of the bulbs and all of a sudden they are in a high mercury environment.
      • obrysii, on 10/10/2007, -2/+45 milligrams (the average for a CFL) is hardly a high mercury environment. There are leaps and bounds more mercury in a old-fashioned thermometer or thermostat.
        • diggduggjoe, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Yet, neither of those items are considered consumables.
        • an0nymous, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3I've never accidentally broken a "old-fashioned thermometer or thermostat" on my living room floor. Lightbulbs? Yeah I've broken a few lightbulbs by accident over the years.
        • grumpyrain, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1If you want to talk about comparisons, you need to understand the numbers. Most if not all modern CFLs have no more than 5mg, even the old ones had under 10mg. This is somewhere between 50 and 600 TIMES LESS mercury than a mercury-in-glass thermometer (500mg - 3000mg).
          Also understand that coal contains trace amounts mercury (as well as U235, Thorium and other goodies). Although modern power plants to a heck of a lot to remove it (some recent estimates show a reduction of up to 90%). Even so, in a typical energy mix that contains coal plants as a base load, over the average life of a CFL, you would emit more mercury into the atmosphere because of the additional power used by an incandescent globe.
          So whilst care should be taken to dispose of broken CFLs carefully, you can't really bring out the 'what about the kids' argument unless you are willing to deal with the elephant in the room (coal).
      • Rhodamine, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Mercury is a toxic substance, and as a consumer it is important to be aware of the mercury content of the products you buy, know how to properly dispose of them, and understand the health risks to your family and the environment. In the case of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), it is important to note that these bulbs save 2-10 times more mercury from the environment than they contain by avoiding pollution from coal-fired power plants, and the amount in each bulb is not significant enough to pose a health risk in your home. Most CFLs have an initial mercury content of 3-4 mg (For comparison, a household mercury thermometer contains 50-3000 mg). Some low-mercury CFLs contain as little as 1.4 mg. Over the life of that same 20W CFL, it will use 550 kWh less electricity than the 75W bulb it replaced, which translates to about 6.5 mg mercury saved from the atmosphere on average. In certain southeastern and western states that depend primarily on coal for electricity, each bulb would save closer to 13 mg of toxic mercury emissions.
        To learn more about proper disposal in your area if your CFL burns out or breaks, the EPA Energy Star Program provides clear clean-up tips and contact numbers
  • zeromancer, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1i'm glad I found this article. I just bought an HPS and MH to replace my CFLs and I need something to do with them.
    • gak001, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Grow lights? Either you're being a douche or you like your place to be *bright*.
    • obrysii, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3High pressure sodium bulbs are terrible for household usage, as their color rendering is horrible.
  • nbcaffeine, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3I recycle them

    ... on to the concrete at the loading dock out back
  • graemee, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2CCFL - Cold Cathode Fluorescent Light not CFL
  • CaviMike, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1I highly doubt the amount of CFL's used by the general public is going to have more of an impact than all of the businesses that use them. Not a single place I've worked has actually recycled these things, they go right in the dumpsters with everything else. Buried as inaccurate.
  • hammerattack, on 10/10/2007, -2/+61. CFLs contain mercury vapor. The very environmental movement that is pushing us to adopt CFLs once told us that mercury - in any amount in any casing - is a plague upon the earth. You can't sensationalize an environmental issue then expect the turnaround to be easy.

    2. Most people in the states see CFLs as being small cousins to the commercial florescent lights, and therefore (wrongly) associate them with the harshness, flickering and buzzing. What would really kick-start the CFL market is if people would just give away one CFL to each household in affluent neighborhoods (where people probably average 30-40 light bulbs in the house). When they see how good they really are, they''ll switch. Then the CFL will become a status symbol, and the poor (who are greater in number, but typically have fewer square feet to light in their domociles) will switch. It's called "trickle down economics", and it works surprisingly well.

    3. Don't hold your breath if you think every incandescent should be replaced. ICLs have a warmth and tenor that you can't get from CFLs. They'll still be used for mood lighting until LEDs replace everything.

    4.Remind women that their outfits will look different at the office than at home UNLESS they start using CFLs. No woman, no matter how pragmatic, wants to be guilty of a fashion faux pas. That's not sexist, that's just the truth man.
    • BelXul, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4Dugg for pointing out the mercury. I don't want that stuff leeching out of the dump into the groundwater, thank you.
    • yazheirx, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1I have a 1800 square foot home and I have over 60 bulbs (with 50 of them being CFL or regular florescent bulbs). Everyone I talk to in the Chicagoland area agrees that most upper class homes have over 100 bulbs with 200-300+ bulbs not being out of the question. Some people even have more than 100 bulbs in their land scape lighting.
      • hammerattack, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I'm poor, so I had to guesstimate. Also, coming from poor parents, I automatically turn off the lights when I leave a room. Mind you, not because I'm worried about the environment. My mom would whoop my ass, then lecture me about her electric bill.
  • OverkillTASF, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3People talk about how CFL's are the wave of the future, and the environmentally sound way to go. However, there's this "short cycling" thing that kills them quickly. In my house, I generally live in the dark. Lights come on when it's pitch black outside only when I'm moving through a room. I have a couple task lights (A reading light, a workbench light, a computer desk light, a kitchen light) that actually get some extended use, but the majority of the lights in my house are cycled a lot. On for 4 seconds, off the rest of the day. Because of my energy conservation habits (Not because I'm a "conservationist", it just makes sense to me), CFL's don't make any sense for me, especially if I'm blowing out CFLs frequently. I would say that for people who make some even mild effort at not leaving all of their lights on all the time, CFLs are a waste of money, and much less environmentally sound than standard incandescent.

    But if you're going to leave every light in the house on all day, sure, go CFL.
  • EmailAddress, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4I bought a pack of 3, 26W General Electric (GE), CFLs from Walmart a long time ago.

    Two of the bulbs died about two or three months later and all 3 were in the same fixture. There was no abuse of on and off continuously or anything like that, just regular use. Only the one bulb works to this day. So basically $10 for 1 bulb.

    I read on the pack that I needed the receipt to send it to GE for replacement. Well since I didn't have the receipt, I assumed I couldn't send it back to GE for replacement. I got screwed. I got angry that I got screwed, because they were not cheap, so I tossed them into the trash can.

    Five years my ass, the claim of their long life.
    • jefu, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1
      It's Byron the Bulb!
    • ChayD, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Odd, never had any problems with GE CFLs. I've got an 11 watt one in my desklamp, and it's been going strong for well over a year now with approx 5-8 hours usage a night. Sad to say, though that I brought two GU50 LED spots, and one's output has halved within 3 months, although I think this can be blamed on a badly designed voltage dropper circuit.
    • Scottamus, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1The first ones I bought died within months as well. I was also in the same boat with the whole 'mail it in with the receipt' BS. I still have the pieces of *****.
      However the new ones that I have bought are much cheaper and haven't burnt out so I would recommend you try some of the newer ones.
  • JohnnyXmas, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2Its probably because CFLs are still incredibly expensive in retail stores.
  • socialpyramid, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Great article! When I was first writing about CFLs 10 yrs ago they cost around $25 each in stores. I had to keep adjusting calculations over and over through the years, until now I've seen them at big box stores for under a dollar. It's amazing how fast things change with economies of scale. CFLs are similar to Li-ion batteries now: common, people are told they should not just toss them out because of toxic contents, but they are still doing it.

    Is it going to take strict producer takeback laws like they have in Germany to fix that problem?
  • tecknopuppy, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Yeah some of guys in my office are complaining that their CFL's dont last as long as they say on the package, but I thinks thats probably due to switching the light on and of so quickly. This mercury issue seems like it will never go away if we keep using them in products that people use all the time, not everyone is going to properly dispose of these devices, so we will always have a mercury problem, oh well.
  • Otto, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Yeah, I bought a couple of CFL's for the living room. They've improved, but not much.

    When you can make them:
    a) Bright
    b) Work with my normal dimmer switches
    c) Able for me to throw them away without having to have hazard gear

    Then I'll be interested. As it is, I've tried 'em, I hate 'em. When they die, I'll be switching back to normal bulbs.
    • hammerattack, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1I can't help you with the dimmer issue, but you can buy three-way CFLs. The CFL's I have are bright as heck. As for throwing them away - the amount of mercury is terribly small, and is in gasous form. Toss freely. It's really not that bad.
    • grumpyrain, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2They are only not bright if you trust the equivalent watt chart. If you read that chart with the same skepticism you would read a fuel consumption on a new car, you would be fine. I replaced the 60W globes with 75W equivalents and the room is brighter and you are still nearly 45W ahead of the old globes.
      • Otto, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1These claimed to be 100W equivalent. I can barely read by them. My 60W normal bulbs are brighter.
  • Hillsfar, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Keep an eye out for special deals. For example, every once in a while here in Southern California, a bunch of CFLs go on sale for very cheap, subsidized by our local Southern California Edison utility.

    Just a couple of months ago, I saw 13W (equivalent to 60W incandescent) bulbs on sale - $1 for a pack of 3 bulbs - at my local Albertson's. I purchased 12 packs (there was no limit), so I have 36 CFLs. A year ago I saw a set of 7 various strength bulbs (including two halogen replacements) in packs at Costco for about $7 per pack. I bought 4 packs.

    I never buy over-priced CFLs.
  • scotty1024, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4CFL's are not the wave of the future: LED lamps are the wave of the future.

    No short cycling issues, can be dimmed, no mercury, no phosphorus, no dangerous glass and they are available in warm, high noon and various other temperatures. They also have no UV, no infrared, less EMI (if you worry about your cellphone, spend more time worrying about CFL's), no acoustic noise, instant on/off, don't dim as quickly as CFL's and generally last considerably longer (10x or more).

    And last but not least they are generally twice as energy efficient as CFL's (and getting more efficient each year.)
    • Scottamus, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Yes they are the wave of the future. Specifically they are so damn expensive now that the only time they will be marketable is way off in the future. Your best bang for the buck is still CFL. I hope LEDs come down into the practical price range but for now they are a hard sell.
  • eh270, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2I've always known CFLs would bite us in the ass. LED bulbs, which contain no mercury or equivalent toxins, are much better: they last longer, and the light is less harsh.
    • hammerattack, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3No equivalent toxins? My friend, you're sadly mistaken. LED's are laced with heavy metals. The process is known as doping and is precisely how semiconductors are able to work.

      Now, that being said... led's and cfls are about the same on the "evil scale", and the enlightened truth is that they're both harmless. Unless you eat them, or sniff the mercury vapor directly from the tube, there's nothing to worry about.
    • Rhodamine, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Mercury is a toxic substance, and as a consumer it is important to be aware of the mercury content of the products you buy, know how to properly dispose of them, and understand the health risks to your family and the environment. In the case of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), it is important to note that these bulbs save 2-10 times more mercury from the environment than they contain by avoiding pollution from coal-fired power plants, and the amount in each bulb is not significant enough to pose a health risk in your home. Most CFLs have an initial mercury content of 3-4 mg (For comparison, a household mercury thermometer contains 50-3000 mg). Some low-mercury CFLs contain as little as 1.4 mg. Over the life of that same 20W CFL, it will use 550 kWh less electricity than the 75W bulb it replaced, which translates to about 6.5 mg mercury saved from the atmosphere on average. In certain southeastern and western states that depend primarily on coal for electricity, each bulb would save closer to 13 mg of toxic mercury emissions.
      To learn more about proper disposal in your area if your CFL burns out or breaks, the EPA Energy Star Program provides clear clean-up tips and contact numbers
  •  

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