FLUORESCENT BULBS SHOULD NOT BE THROWN IN THE TRASH!

Fluorescent light bulbs can now be recycled in Santa Fe free of charge. This great community service keeps the mercury containing bulbs out of our landfills and into a responsible recovery program.

Why Fluorescent Light Bulbs?

Light bulbs such as compact fluorescent lights (CFL) are much more energy efficient than the traditional light bulbs. CFLs use 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs and last 6-10 times longer. One 18 watt CFL versus one 75 watt incandescent bulb saves 570 kWh over a lifetime. With the average cost being 8 cents per kWh this pans out to a $45 savings.

With an increasing amount of CFLs entering US households the federal government estimates that if every American home replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star approved CFL, the United States would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of nearly 800,000 cars.

Environmental Concerns

The down side to CFLs is that they contain small amounts of mercury. When mercury is released into the environment, it accumulates in living organisms. As it travels up the food chain it can reach dangerous levels, that when exposed to, can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune system. A CFL contains an average of 5 milligrams of mercury. Although this amount is the equivalent of a tip on a ball point pin, the increasing amount of CFLs purchased leads to a greater amount of CFLs in need of proper disposal. When a CFL is thrown into the garbage, more often than not, it is broken and mercury is released into the environment and the solid waste stream. An increasing amount of CFLs in landfills leads to an accumulation of the toxic metal and a higher risk of groundwater contamination.

While the concern for mercury emissions from CFLs is undeniably significant the mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants used to make traditional light bulbs are far more serious. Coal burning power plants used to make incandescent bulbs account for the largest human caused mercury emissions in the U.S. Four times more mercury is emitted to produce the electricity for an incandescent bulb than for a compact fluorescent.

The mercury in each bulb is minute, but because the accumulation of this element is dangerous to the environment, a recycling program for these bulbs has been developed at BuRRT.

How are they Recycled?

At BuRRT fluorescent bulbs (tubes and u-shapes) are sent through a crusher which uses a rotating metal chain to crush the bulbs into a powder form and a high powered vacuum to capture the mercury vapor. The compact fluorescent are stored in 55 gallon drums with vermiculite until they are full and ready to be shipped to a recycling facility. The vermiculite is a sand like consistency packing material that keeps the CFLs from breaking.

BuRRT now accepts fluorescent light bulbs for recycling. This service is free of charge to residents of Santa Fe City and County. Drop-off times are 7 days a week from 8 am to 5 pm. Please call 820-0208 for any additional questions.

For more information on CFLs visit http://www.gelighting.com/na/home_lighting/ask_us/faq_compact.htm

Crushed bulbs inside drum

The chains shown here whip at a rapid pace to crush the fluorescent light bulbs