NGEMC offices offer a safe disposal option for CFLs with recycling bins at all of our area offices—Calhoun, Dalton, Fort Oglethorpe and Trion.
CFLs are safe to use, can last up to 10 times longer than incandescent light bulbs and are 75 percent more energy efficient. CFLs do contain a very small amount of mercury—only enough to fit on the tip of a ballpoint pen. Mercury in CFLs allows the bulb to be an efficient light source.
But no mercury is released when the bulbs are intact or in use, says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). One EPA study showed that even if a CFL breaks, only a fraction of the mercury inside is released. In December the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updated the guidelines for cleaning up a broken CFL. To learn more about cleaning up a broken CFL, visit the EPA website’s section on CFL cleanup.
When you are ready to recycle a used or broken CFL at an NGEMC office, place it in a resealable plastic bag and bring it in. NGEMC cannot recycle the larger, tube-shaped fluorescent light bulbs most often found in commercial buildings.
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