Here at Trash Wizard Junk Removal of Worcester, MA we’re continuing a previous article on proper mercury disposal. The original posting will explain the dangers of mercury and this up-to-date post will give a more in depth look at some common questions surrounding a common product containing mercury: Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs.
Compared to incandescent light bulbs, CFL bulbs are more energy efficient and cost effective. These CFL bulbs use 75% less electricity, while lasting nearly 10 times as long as regular incandescent bulbs.
If every home in America replaced just one incandescent bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified CFL, it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes.
But even with the great benefits of these CFL bulbs, they should still be properly disposed of. According to Home Depot‘s website they offer nationwide drop boxes store wide. All you have to do is take your old, unbroken bulbs and wrap them in a plastic bag. Then go to your nearest Home Depot to deposit them in one of their in-store drop boxes. Home Depot will do the rest!
Most of you are probably reading this and wondering, “Why are they still using mercury in these new CFL bulbs if it’s dangerous?”. That’s a good question. But unfortunately, mercury is a necessary element in light bulbs because the mercury excites the phosphors in the bulb allowing a glow to manifest and thus produce ‘light’.
Newer CFL bulbs contain about 5 milligrams of mercury which is the equivalent of the tip on a ballpoint pen. In comparison, older house hold thermostats contain around 3,000 milligrams of mercury! If you converted that amount of mercury to reflect today’s CFL bulbs you could produce 600 bulbs that would in turn save each user $30 per light bulb in energy costs over the life span of the bulb! So do the math–by discontinuing the production of just ONE older, antiquated thermostat it would save around $18,000 in energy costs! That’s a pretty impressive feat.
Stay tuned to learn more about emerging trends in Recycling, Energy consumption and reducing our carbon footprint from Trash Wizard Junk Removal! Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!!!