Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
News Conference Comments
Mayor Corroon
Whitmore Library
Thursday, July 12, 2007

As you know, I am always looking for opportunities for the County and its employees to partner in protecting the environment.

Last summer, we promoted the Blue Sky Credits program. The County and its employees purchased 989 blocks of wind power. A little later last year, I learned about the 2006 Change a Light Campaign sponsored by the National Association of Counties (NACo) and Office Depot. 

Switching from traditional light bulbs to CFLs is an effective, accessible change every resident can make right now to reduce energy use at home and prevent greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change.

Lighting accounts for close to 20 percent of the average home’s electric bill. Changing to CFLs costs little upfront and provides a quick return on investment. A 22 watt compact fluorescent bulb produces about the same light as a 100 watt incandescent bulb while using only 1/3 as much energy and lasting an average of 10 times longer. Compact fluorescent bulbs can last as long as 10,000 hours versus an expected 750 hours for an incandescent bulb.

Compact fluorescents can also help the larger environment. Using a single compact fluorescent bulb instead of an incandescent bulb can reduce as much as ½ ton of carbon dioxide output from the power plant producing the electricity used to power the bulb.

The EPA estimates that if every American home replaced just one incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent bulb it would conserve enough energy to light 3 million homes a year.
As we encourage the use of CFLs, we also want to provide a means for county residents to dispose of used bulbs in a way that best protects the environment.

Disposal of compact fluorescent bulbs can be done by placing them in household trash. However, these bulbs contain small amounts of mercury which is categorized as hazardous waste. While each CFL bulb contains only a small amount of mercury, the cumulative effect on our landfills could be great. When not properly disposed of, mercury has the potential of finding its way into our water sources.

Therefore, the best method for disposal is to recycle the materials from the bulbs so the mercury in them can be recovered and kept out of landfills. With this new joint program, getting the used bulbs to a recycling facility will be easier for residents.

CountyLibrary facilities (see list of disposal sites) will each have a box at the front desk where residents can bring their used Compact Fluorescent Bulbs. Library staff will gladly accept these bulbs and place them in containers provided by the SLVHD for recycling.

Once a week, SLVHD staff will pick up the bulbs that are dropped off at the libraries and process them through the recycling program which is operated from the Salt Lake County Landfill.