Do compact fluorescent bulbs contain mercury?
CFL bulbs have about 4.0 milligrams of mercury in them to assist with starting. This much mercury is about the volume that would fill the size of the period at the end of a sentence. This amount is not dangerous in the home. It only becomes problematic when large amounts of CFL bulbs are disposed in waste dumps and, therefore, these bulbs should be recycled.
CFLs, including GU24 bulbs, contain a miniscule amount of mercury – about 5 milligrams. Mercury helps make compact fluorescent bulbs energy efficient. However, compare the power plant emissions over the lifetime of an incandecsent bulb to a CFL. Incandescent bulbs generate 13 mg of mercury into the environment. CFLs generate a paltry 3-1/2 mg. Any compact fluorescent bulb should still be recycled or disposed according to local guidelines. Contact your local municipal solid waste agency or visit Lamprecycle.org.
Some of the comments are a bit harsh. The commenters aren’t taking into account the fact that the battery industry has taken steps to make their alkaline batteries safer by eliminating mercury use AND instituted a recycling program for the rechargeables IN THE ABSENCE of any legislation requiring them to take these measures. Parts of the interview were an unwarranted attack on an industry, an organization and its staff that have obviously been trying to do the right thing. If we want to recycle alkalines it will first be necessary to remove any IMPORTED batteries still containing mercury from our marketplace. This can’t be done without legislation- so where is that? In fact, here in Canada when alkaline batteries are collected as hazardous waste they are not recycled, they are generally encased in concrete or other material to stabilize them and then put into a landfill anyway.
