What to do if you break a CFL

 Today I broke a CFL or Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb. Just accidentally swung a laundry basket out of another basket too high and whack, there went the CFL. Luckily I was turned away at the time because it really exploded and caused a flash. Now I had to dispose of it. Well, who knew it would become a Hazmat drill in our basement?

Now, we did think long and hard about even using these bulbs once we found out they contain mercury. Yes mercury! But you see these ads about how you should to save the environment and we are into that, being old hippies and all. And David Suzuki was out there promoting them. So we sucked it up and bought some.

And I have to admit that we didn’t really think about breaking one. We’d read about having to bring them back to some places that will recycle them and handle the mercury disposal if they wear out, but that wouldn’t be for years, right? But breaking? Somehow I didn’t think about that.

Now luckily I read a lot of magazines that I take out of the library. It saves money and storage to borrow but that’s another story. And I just happened to have read recently about what to do when you break a CFL. So I did the first thing that I remembered from the article and cleared out of the area right away for 15 minutes. Then I spent some time on the internet to find out what to do. Did you know that if you Google a question like What to do if you break a CFL you will get tons of results? Very handy I’d say. Here are a couple that we found. The GE one http://www.gelighting.com/na/home_lighting/ask_us/faq_compact.htm#mercury
has a lot of answers, with I must add just a bit of non alarmist view and then there was the one from the UK  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-506347/An-energy-saving-bulb-gone–evacuate-room-now.html
that was a bit more alarming. Apparently there is quite a controversy going on about disposal of all of these CFLs with mercury ending up in landfills. Hmmmm.

So here, long and short is what we found.
1 Clear the area and ventilate the room
2 Sweep up- don’t vacuum- the bulb and contents.
3 Wear rubber gloves to avoid contamination.
4 Put everything in a sealed plastic bag
5 Dispose of it at a hazardous materials site.

So Eric and I and later Bill, when he arrived home, suited up. Rubber gloves and to be sure we donned masks.

We felt we were a Hazmat cleaning crew! Then we carefully swept it all up looking in every nook and cranny where we thought the shards and contents could have scattered. We placed everything in an old pizza shell bag (hey we recycle) and labeled it. Now Bill will deliver it to our local recycling and garbage disposal site. They have a hazardous waste drop off that is free.

But I must admit I’m left with quite few questions about this supposedly eco method of lighting.

Tags: break a CFL, CFL, CFL disposal, Compact Flourescent light bulb, hazardous materials, landfills, mercury, recycle