By Kevin Levy
Of all the potential hazards that life puts in your way, turning on lights in your home seems like the most innocuous. After all, isn’t it much safer to turn on your lights than to trip over your child’s toy in the dark? The simple answer is yes, as long as you use and dispose of your light bulbs in the proper way.
Every time you turn on a light in Knox County, power plants burn coal to provide the necessary energy. The combustion of coal releases mercury, among other pollutants, into the air.
Mercury can find its way back into the water we drink or the food we eat, causing negative effects to the nervous system, brain and kidneys in adults and infants.
Suddenly, that toe you stubbed in the dark seems like a small price to pay for reducing energy consumption.
Rather than walk around in the dark, many households have chosen to reduce their energy consumption and associated cost by replacing incandescent light bulbs with new, energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).
Though the “swirly” CFLs are slightly more expensive than incandescent bulbs at the store, they are estimated to pay for themselves in six months and save $30 over their lifespan.
Even if these cost-saving estimates are slightly high, the bottom line is that they save money and energy; perhaps that’s why national sales of CFLs have grown nearly fivefold in the past eight years.
However, since CFLs contain mercury, the original material whose release they purport to reduce, should Knox County residents actually switch to these bulbs?
In short, yes. CFLs are a much safer option for both your family and the environment because they contain only trace amounts of mercury that is released only when bulbs break. They also can be easily recycled.
Public collection sites include the Household Hazardous Waste facility, which also accepts larger mercury-containing fluorescent tubes, and any county drop-off center. These locations accept CFLs, mercury thermometers and thermostats separately from the trash. Home Depot also recycles CFLs from the public. All of these services are free.
Nationally there is concern about both energy consumption and the disposal of CFLs. As long as Knox County residents purchase and recycle CFLs, we can all feel safer about our health and environment, even if your kids keep leaving those toys around the house.
Kevin Levy is an Americorps volunteer providing environmental education to residents of Knoxville and Knox County.
Originally published by KEVIN LEVY.
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