05-19-08: It's no so easy being "green"

WILMINGTON -- They look a little funny, like a child had a little too much fun working with malleable glass.

But the swirly compact fluorescent light bulbs are one of the most visible signs of the nation's growing green movement.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, if every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb in one year the country would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of more than 800,000 cars.

But the low-energy bulbs contain a pinprick amount of mercury, or more specifically mercury vapor, a dangerous heavy metal. Mercury, which impairs the nervous system, is especially dangerous to fetuses and infants.

That's left some early fluorescent adopters in a quandary as they seek the "greenest" way to dispose of their light bulbs as they burn out.

"Right now for residents, they can still put them in their household trash," said Lynn Bestul, New Hanover's solid waste planner.

But if possible, he added, the bulbs should be placed in their original packaging or double wrapped for safety.

Some North Carolina communities have specific household hazardous waste collection centers. New Hanover County only offers the service once a year during the fall, although Bestul said the county is looking at expanding the program. Some retailers, notably Wal-Mart, also occasionally have bulb recycling events.

Another option for homeowners is to take bulbs to a private contractor. Southeast Response and Remediation Inc. on U.S. 421 North collects and bundles fluorescent bulbs from businesses for recycling.

General Manager Rick Miles said the company sends the bulbs to a facility that uses a vacuum to implode them and recover the glass, metal and even the mercury for reuse.

But the system isn't really set up to deal with household bulbs, although Miles said Southeast would accept them for a nominal fee and just include them with the larger fluorescents if people wanted to drop them off.

But what if a fluorescent bulb is dropped or breaks?

Federal regulators recommend immediately opening a window or door, shutting off any air conditioning or heating, and leaving the area where the bulb was broken for at least 15 minutes. Dispose of the broken glass in a double-sealed bag and immediately place it outside before thoroughly washing any clothing, fabrics or furniture that came into contact with the bulb fragments.

But environmentalists said the advantages of fluorescent bulbs easily outweighs the dangers posed.

Since CFLs use less energy, they are responsible for far less mercury pollution in the long run. That's because coal-fired power plants are the biggest producers of mercury pollution in the country.

The low-energy bulbs also save landfill space, since homeowners aren't throwing out any incandescent bulbs, and they more than pay for themselves over their life cycle.

Gareth McGrath: 343-2384

gareth.mcgrath@starnewsonline.com