From: Link to Source
Q: I use green tip "environmentally friendly" fluorescent bulbs, can they be put in the regular trash? A: All fluorescent bulbs/devices are considered hazardous waste because they contain the heavy metal Mercury. Green tipped light bulbs may have a smaller amount, but they still contain mercury. Lamps or devices with any mercury must be recycled under the Universal Waste Rule or be counted as a hazardous waste by the generating facility.
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An exploration of this mandated CF bulb issue:
There are a few things about this whole lighting thing that don't set well with me. Not the least is the Government getting involved in the inner workings of our homes, for what I truly think is such an enormously insignificant benefit. It strikes me of incompetent politicians pretending to make a difference, ya know pandering to emotions and lobby funding.
For example, a little known secret about lighting, if its off it isn't spinning the meter (we can talk about leakage current another day).
Yep, get real folks, how many hours a day does the lamp in your closet burn? Less than 1? Does it really take you more than 15 minutes every day to scan select and pull your cloths and then turn out the light?
Lets run the numbers.
ONE one-hundred watt light bulb for ONE hour per day, for One year. That's ONE KWH every ten days, that's 36.5 KWH per year. At $0.1 per KWH (10 cents) that adds up to around $3.65 to light your closet per year. If we cut that in half we saved around $1.825, which translates to around 3 year simple pay back for a $5 CF replacement.
Small change in the bigger scheme of things. We may want to take a close look at our Air Conditioning and household appliance electricity bills.
But like a comment below indicated, the Australian Canadian and likely (probably) soon Californian bans on incandescent bulbs are likely more of a token move.
(Politicians pretending they perform some useful value, which really means the Environmental Lobby lines their pockets so they can get re-elected)
SteamGeek prediction - Food Stamp programs will expand to include CF light bulbs for the poor. In other word tax payers will foot the bill for politicians useless scams.
But why would I pick on the lowly closet light bulb as an example for fruitless legislations and intervention in citizens homes? Aren't the citizens the real users of vast quantities of electricity, the scourge of the power grid?
Aren't the citizens the driving force of the NEED for Government to regulate, aren't WE the problem?
Where is electricity used for lighting?
Is there any chance its the commercial building sector?
Is it any chance its municipal lighting?
Is it really a BAD BAD United States energy pig issue?
I suppose I will soon be an outlaw in the eyes of the Government. Or at least the creative types will no longer have freedom to think, feel, express themselves.....
Prepare to conform people, the Government Scam is upon you. And getting thicker.
Oh yeah, sorry, I promised a resource for the disposal of the new mandated (TOXIC) lighting products:
1.800.555.0050
LINK to HAZMAT story from broken CF bulb in a home.
Before anyone gets too worked up and brands me as a heretic in this energy efficiency, sustainability, driven toward common sense lighting conversation, I would make the following few points to conclude this article;
1) Exactly what are the electrical engineering qualifications of the politicians who make these laws?
2) Like any other technical solution to a problem, there are case by case examples of where any device or next generation technology makes sense, and cases where they don't.
3) It may well be that a wholesale ban across the board of incandescent light bulbs is not the answer, and with PROPER SAFE handling, the CF bulbs do in fact have a place.
As always, education and awareness are the keys to sensible decision making.
Onward toward the light of day.