Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs or CFLs as we have all come to know them

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Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs or CFLs as we have all come to know them

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farquare

posts: 6

May 13, 2008 8:04 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Going green with CFLs? Are you going all the way? When they die which bin do they end up in? Less than 20% of fluorescent bulbs are recycled and that was before the onslaught of CFLs. Are your recycling yours?

The reason I pose these questions is to confirm my ideas about expanding my business to include recycling these little guys. All fluorescent lights contain a small amount of mercury and when broken this heavy metal is released into the environment. According to the EPA there are over 650 million mercury containing bulbs used and discarded in the USA each year which means that more than 520 million are ending up in landfills. Now take this number and extend it out by the amount of mercury in each of those bulbs and we are adding about 5,700 pounds of mercury to the environment. That doesn`t sound good or green at all.

There are companies providing the means to recycle these not so green light bulbs but is there an opportunity to facilitate the process and make some money at the same time?

Chime in and let me know what you think.

cleanair

posts: 2

May 14, 2008 5:29 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Greetings- try Ecocycle in Boulder. You might also try Conservation Resource Center in Boulder. They should be able to give you some ideas as to how to cash in your chips. Also go to the Bioneers site and look into the forum for feedback and answers. If you find a way, I`d be interested in talking more as a partner perhaps.

Dd

-------------------------

Daniel Durham
projbluski@planetsave.com
Saving the Planet One Plastic Bag @ a Time!
Visit us at http://projbluski.ning.com for updates for alternatives to using plastic bags.
Recycling begins before you go shopping!

farquare

posts: 6

May 21, 2008 1:56 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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I checked out ecocycle and they offer the same opportunity that one of our bulb suppliers offers which is what started the whole thing. The issue here is that the resources are out there to facilitate recycling but those resources are not reaching the home owner they are designed for B2B. I have talked to Rapid Refill Inc becuase they are deeply involved in recycling but they aren`t interested in taking on this one at this time.

So... ... ... we need to come up with a way to collect bulbs and invoice customers. This is the hurdle that I currently face.

minimegeology

posts: 143

Sep 10, 2008 1:06 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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JP,

I totally agree with the problem of the mercury. I hope that you can find a reasonably priced solution. When I first saw that CFLs had mercury in them I refused to buy them. If you break one in your home it isn`t an easy clean up. Plus, if the millions that are being sold today aren`t recycled or disposed of properly (in a lined landfill) they will end up with everyday trash in an unlined landfill which will be a huge problem for groundwater. Although, the average homeowner is not going to dispose of their bulbs at a lined landfill.

It would be much easier and more economical to find a way to properly dispose or recycle these bulbs than to clean up mercury-impacted groundwater. Better yet, can anyone design an energy efficient bulb that does not use mercury?

Tracy

-------------------------

Tracy Barnhart, Owner
Giverny, Inc. / Mini Me Geology
http://www.GivernyOnline.com
http://www.MiniMeGeology.com

farquare

posts: 6

Sep 10, 2008 12:51 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Hey Tracy, I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one concerned here. You know rumor has it that Home Depot is starting a program but I have yet to see anything in any stores here in Texas. 1000Bulbs is promoting a product that they sell for recycling these bulbs and Mercury Vapor bulbs but the average home owner isn`t going hold on to a bucket of burned bulbs for a couple of years or until they fill it up. So do we buy the containers and provide a service to collect the bulbs? If so how would the logistics work?? Being an old Logistics Engineer this is not as easy as it sounds. We do travel the Metroplex every week but how would we incorporate this into our current business. Questions Questions Questions!!!

JP

cynchrys

posts: 49

Sep 10, 2008 1:24 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Tracy,

I also am deeply concerned about the mercury. Is anyone even talking about trying to design something that doesn`t use mercury? Why/why not?

minimegeology

posts: 143

Sep 10, 2008 1:36 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Hi JP and Cindy,

I`ve worked in the environmental consulting field for a long time doing groundwater and soil cleanups and I know how hard it will be to clean up the mercury from groundwater. Honestly, I think the best thing is if a few of those really smart engineers and chemists out there develop an energy saving light bulb without hazardous materials. (I`m just a geologist or I`d do it myself!) I don`t think we can expect homeowners to solve the problem after the bulb has burned out (or broken) so we need to solve it on the front end by not using mercury in the bulbs.

I don`t know if anyone is working on a mercury-free bulb or not. The mercury issue needs to get some media attention to make people understand the problem.

Tracy

-------------------------

Tracy Barnhart, Owner
Giverny, Inc. / Mini Me Geology
http://www.GivernyOnline.com
http://www.MiniMeGeology.com

cynchrys

posts: 49

Sep 10, 2008 1:42 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Tracy,

Just looked at your minime web site. Do you market to home schoolers at all? Love your stuff.

minimegeology

posts: 143

Sep 10, 2008 1:48 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Hi Cindy,

We have gotten so great interest from home schoolers and a few website and blogs for home schooling resources. We`d like to target it more so I`m trying to educate myself on the best resources for us to target with our information and advertising. Do you home school?

Tracy

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Tracy Barnhart, Owner
Giverny, Inc. / Mini Me Geology
http://www.GivernyOnline.com
http://www.MiniMeGeology.com

Zosimos

posts: 3

Sep 10, 2008 10:55 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Another issue with CFL`s that needs attention is their incompatibility with dimmer switches. My toddler fell asleep in my studio once and I dimmed the lights. Soon after things started smoking. Thankfully I turned them off before anything sparked. They all blew out. Very expensive lesson learned. Took out the dimmer, replaced all the bulbs. We live near a Waste Transfer Station with a large recycling facility that accepted them.

Linda
http://www.zbllc.com

-------------------------

Zosimos Botanicals
Exclusive Green Cosmetics

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