These don’t belong in your trash

Fluorescent lightbulbs are an ideal way to lower energy costs. This not only saves you money on your energy bill, it means less mercury is emitted from your power plant.

What many people don’t realize is that fluorescent light bulbs contain mercury and can be harmful to human health if disposed of improperly. The amount of mercury in a compact fluorescent lamp (the spiral light bulb found at most retailers) does not pose a risk to your or your family’s health when it’s contained in the bulb. According to Energy Star, CFLs contain an average of 5 milligrams of mercury. To put this into perspective, old time thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury, which means it would take 100 CFLs to equal that amount.

The problem is that most people discard these in the trash. When they are taken to a landfill or incinerated, the mercury is released. If this happens enough, it can contaminate the food chain, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

The answer is simple: find a recycling center for burned out fluorescent light bulbs. Light bulb recycling is required by the government. Make sure you understand the laws in your area.

Find a recycling location for household fluorescents
How to clean up a broken CFL