How to dispose of new curly lightbulbs with-mercury

[TerryJ2]

The new, odd-shaped lightbulbs so popular nowdays are probably going to be the only lightbulbs around in a cpl yrs, according to legislation that has been introduced. An article was posted here the other day about how they can potentially cause migraines.

At any rate, many people have told me that they cannot be thrown away in the regular garbage, so I emailed our city recycling dept and this is the response I got:

Thank you for your interest in recycling. According to the manufacturers of these items, the amount of mercury found in the newer Compact Fluorescent bulbs is a fraction of what it was five years ago. So these can be disposed of in the regular trash.

Not every city will agree, so you may want to contact your own.

Terry

 

[Nancy]

I don't like those lightbulbs. They are too bright for me and hurt my eyes. I sure hope they come up with an alternative but I did hear them mentioned in the candidates debates last week.

I replaced mine and my Dad's thermostats with a programmable on and had to take the old mercury thermostats to the fire dept for disposal.

I still remember when we were kids and occassionally a thermometer would break and we would go chasing the little balls of mercury all across the floor

Nancy

 

[Star*]

I haven't tried them - I'm leaving regular, low wattage, colored lightbulbs in the house when we move.

Nancy- do you think darker shades would help your eyes? I don't like bright bright light either - It's a "Gremlin" thing.

 

[Nancy]

Star-the problem is that these bulbs are much longer than the regular bulbs so they stick out of the shade. Also a dark shade makes it difficult to read. If they could make them the same size as the regular bulbs it may be better.

Nancy

 

[Suz]

I hate them. They're ugly and don't fit into some of my lamps. And the ones I've gotten have been dimmer (?) than the old fashioned bulbs of the same wattage.

I also found out the hard way that ceiling fan blades won't turn if you use them!

Suz

 

[Lothlorien]

We use them in places where the kids forget to turn the lights off frequently....like the basement. We also have them inside ceiling light fixtures, where there is a cover to filter out the brightness. The newer ones that we just purchased are more bluish and are really, really bright.

We generally put lightbulbs in our recycling container.

 

[Marguerite]

Nancy, you wrote, "I don't like those lightbulbs. They are too bright for me and hurt my eyes."

We found that you have to use a much lower wattage for the equivalent amount of brightness. Go down a step from the recommendation. Our packaging states that to replace a 50W incandescent bulb, you use 10W compact fluoro; but we use 8W instead and are happy.

As for the shape of them - they used to be too long, but we have a good selection these days and they are the same size as the old light bulbs. Perhaps this is because we already have the legislation that says they must be selling only the fluoro bulbs, the old incandescent ones are being phased out.

But they DO contain mercury, and you do need to check each area for disposal rules.

Also, a newspaper headline from a couple of days ago said something about the phasing-out of incandescents being on hold, until they resolve the migraine issue (ie IS it an issue, or is it just perception?)

I'm quite happy with them; but then, it sounds like we have a lot more choice than you do at this stage.

Marg

 

[DammitJanet]

Mine are the same size and shape as the old bulbs just curly.

I dont think mine are brighter than the other bulbs but then I actually went down in wattage when I switched. Everyone here was always wanting 100 watt bulbs everywhere but I got the equivalent to 60 or 75 depending on where they were going. 60 in the bedrooms but 75 in the living room and kitchen. Seems bright enough to me and mine are a yellow tinge.

I dont have lamps or ceiling fans so that isnt a problem for me, we just have ceiling fixtures.

 

[susiestar]

Marg, the migraine issue is VERY much a real issue. The flourescent lights have a supposedly imperceptible flicker. For those with migraines, something in our brains recognizes the flicker and reacts. A solution is to have even just one incandescent bulb and the rest flourescent. We have had to do this with these bulbs.

I am glad they are waiting to d/c the regular lightbulbs.

BUT here the only bulbs I can find anywhere for our ceiling fan fixtures are these new ones. We need a shorter bulb to go into the cover, and these are the only ones available.

Every place is different, in some ways, I guess.

Susie