WSJ Article on "Green" Bulbs

In my "Green Asbestos" posting, I mentioned that I had yet to come across any articles in the trade or business press that highlighted how compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) contain mercury, how consumers shouldn't throw them away in the garbage, or what to do if you break one at home. Well, today the Wall Street Journal ran an excellent article by Sara Schaefer Munoz titled "The Dark Side Of 'Green' Bulbs" (subscription required).

The article discusses how leading retailers like Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Office Depot, as well as manufacturers like Apple and Dell, are helping consumers recycle their used electronics. It also highlights the fact that many consumers are not aware that CFLs contain mercury or know what to do with them when they burn out. Paul Abernathy, the executive director of the Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers, states that only about 25% of all mercury-containing bulbs are recycled. "Everywhere we go," Mr. Abernathy says in the article, "we are being encouraged to use [compact fluorescent bulbs], but there's really a lack of reasonably accessible drop-off spots [when they burn out]." There are only about two dozen licensed facilities in the U.S. for processing mercury waste.

The article also quotes Ellen Silbergeld, a professor of environmental health sciences at Johns Hopkins University. Ms. Silbergeld is concerned about the environmental impact if millions of CFLs end up in landfills or incinerators. "I don't think anybody has really grappled with this," she says.

On a related matter, my kids came home from school earlier this month with a packet of information promoting a new fundraiser. The students are selling CFLs provided by NSTAR (our local utility) and the school gets to keep the profits. Great idea, so we committed to buy a few bulbs. But the letter accompanying the packet, like most articles you read about CFLs, only highlighted the environmental and cost benefits of these lights; nowhere in the letter, nor in the 4-page color brochure produced by NSTAR, was mercury mentioned or any information provided about responsible handling and disposal of CFLs. Not even in fine print!

A few days later, we received an email from the principal addressing the mercury issue, presumably in response to other parents who noticed the omission and contacted the school. The basic message of the email: Yes, these bulbs contain mercury and they need to be recycled, but the amount of mercury in each bulb is minuscule and the energy-saving benefits greatly outweigh this negative. There's an underlying assumption, however, that when a CFL burns out, we'll all get in our cars and drive a few miles to the recycling center on the other side of town, instead of walking a few feet to the garbage can in the kitchen. After all, the amount of mercury in a bulb is so minuscule, how much harm can it do?