The EPA uses 0.1 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day as the accepted exposure level for oral consumption without recognized adverse effects.  Inhaling mercury vapor in significant amounts (greater than 0.025 mg/m3) can cause deficits in cognitive functioning, tremors, kidney damage and even death in cases of high exposure. If mercury is so toxic, why is it in a common household item?

When mercury vapor  is stimulated by electrical current, it produces ultra-violet light. When this UV light bounces off the phosphor compound painted on the inside of a CFL, it converts to visible light and the bulb glows. Mercury is the most efficient element known – no other alternative can achieve comparable energy efficiency, making it an essential component of CFLs.

image courtesy of http://www.climatechange.gov.au/what-you-need-to-know/lighting/resources/fs.aspx

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 set energy-efficiency standards for light bulbs that will come fully into effect by 2014. The law will require light bulbs to use 25-30 percent less power than incandescent bulbs use today – which means incandescent bulbs will be effectively phased out because they cannot meet these standards.

Currently over 670 million mercury-containing bulbs are discarded each year nationwide.  Where do they all go? The EPA strongly encourages the recycling of all fluorescent light bulbs, but only requires it for certain commercial and industrial waste, relying on states to enforce residential recycling. The easiest recycling centers for residential and consumer access are typically home improvement/hardware stores such as Home Depot and Lowes (check out Earth911.com for recycling locations near you). Unfortunately, many people are not aware of the importance of recycling CFLs, and instead just toss them in the trash.

Virtually all components of a fluorescent bulb can be recycled – including the mercury. By recycling, you’ll ensure that 99.98 percent of the mercury used in the lamp is recovered. But even in a state such as Maine, with progressive laws that prohibit mercury disposal in landfills, the estimated recycling rate is still very low. A 2009 study found that 79 percent of those surveyed didn’t know that recycling was a requirement. Of those who did know, 17 percent still disposed of CFLs in the trash.

As CFL use becomes more widespread due to federal regulations, it’s important that the general public is educated on the dangers of bulb breakage, safe cleanup, and proper disposal for spent bulbs. About 11 percent of the mercury vapor inside CFLs is released if the bulb is broken. If sent to a landfill, mercury leaches into the soil and groundwater, or is incinerated into the air.  If broken inside your home, mercury can contaminate your carpet and vaporize into the air. The EPA has detailed instructions for what to do – and what not to do – in case of a ‘mercury spill’ (i.e. CFL breakage) inside your home.  But unless the bulb breaks in a tiny closet, with you inside, and the door shut – the vapor should dissipate enough over time that inhalation isn’t a serious threat. Opening windows and vacating the room and/or building is the best way to ensure you aren’t breathing in significant concentrations of vapors.

While the amount of mercury in one CFL may be negligible compared to other sources of mercury we encounter, we must still consider the impact on the environment. Some argue that even in the worst-case scenario, the mercury added to the environment if every CFL bulb was incinerated would add only 0.12 percent to annual manmade mercury emissions in the U.S.  But considering the fact that current emissions are already significantly high enough to cause a public health risk via the food chain (think mercury-laden fish) then perhaps even a 0.12 percent reduction is worth the effort to educate the public and divert CFLs from the landfill.

How mercury enters the environment…where is the landfill in this equation?

Some potential solutions to CFLs-in-landfills are tougher regulations at the state or federal level to require recycling, better product labeling, and manufacturing standards that limit the amount of mercury used, as is already done in the U.K. Do you recycle your CFLs? Why or why not?

Photo by Dattodesign on Flickr

Have you ever wanted to compost your food scraps but felt limited by the size of your home or lack of local resources?If you live in Washington, DC you have options like Compost Cab or Fat Worm. If you live in Maryland, your options for residential composting largely depend on what you can do at your home.

Some folks like vermicomposting, which uses Red Wigglers (Eisenia foetida) or Red Earthworms (Lumbricus rubellus) to break down food into fertilizer. Vermicomposting kits come small enough to set up in your home, and Treehugger details several options available for urban composters.

However, if worm composting won’t work for you and you don’t have the space to have an outside bin, you are at the mercy of the service range for metro DC composting companies. And the services require a $ub$cription, to haul away your organic waste. It’s all for the greater good, so many people do not hesitate to pay if they cannot compost at their residence. But if you live in an area outside of service range, if you do not have a backyard, and if you have a small apartment, your organic waste goes into a landfill.

One of the challenges is availability of facilities. The Maryland Department of Environment has shut down Maryland facilities, and new restrictions and regulations have stalled openings of additional sites in the region; the closest facility to the Maryland and DC region is in Delaware. However, demand for commercial and residential composting continues to rise, so Howard County, Maryland began a pilot compost program fall 2012. Details about the small scale effort serving Elkridge and Ellicott City, MD can be found on their public works page.

Perhaps someday we will have a city-wide weekly compost pickup like Portland. For now, I look forward to the day when I can either compost at my residence or send my organic waste to a composting facility.

Do you compost at home? How does your city handle composting?

Carolyn is a graduate from JHU’s AAP ESP program. She’s passionate about sustainability, good food and getting outside.