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Environmental Issues

Since CFLs use less power to supply the same amount of light as an incandescent lamp of the same lumen rating, they can be used to decrease energy consumption at the location they are used in. In countries where electricity is largely produced from burning fossil fuels, the savings reduces emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants; in other countries the reduction may help reduce negative impacts from radioactive waste, hydroelectric plants, or other sources; see environmental concerns with electricity generation for details.

While CFLs require more energy in manufacturing than incandescent lamps, this is offset by the fact that they last longer.

CFLs, like all fluorescent lamps (e.g., long tubular lamps common in offices and kitchens), contain small amounts of mercury and it is a concern for landfills and waste incinerators where the mercury from lamps may be released and contribute to air and water pollution. In the USA, lighting manufacturer members of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) have made a voluntary commitment to cap the amount of mercury used in CFLs:

Under the voluntary commitment, effective April 15, 2007, NEMA members will cap the total mercury content in CFLs of less than 25 watts at 5 milligrams (mg) per unit. The total mercury content of CFLs that use 25 to 40 watts of electricity will be capped at 6 mg per unit.

Some manufacturers such as Philips and GE make very low-mercury content CFLs. In 2007, Philips claimed its Master TL-D Alto range to have the lowest mercury content of any CFL on the market, at 2mg.

Safe disposal requires storing the bulbs unbroken until they can be processed. Consumers should seek advice from local authorities. Usually, one can either:

The United States Environmental Protection Agency publishes guidelines on how to clean up after CFL bulb (’tube’) breakage and recommends that, in the absence of local guideline, CFLs be double-bagged in plastic bags before disposal..

The first step of processing CFLs involves crushing the bulbs in a machine that uses negative pressure ventilation and a mercury-absorbing filter or cold trap to contain and treat the contaminated gases. Many municipalities are purchasing such machines. The crushed glass and metal is stored in drums, ready for shipping to recycling factories.

However, because household users have the option of disposing of these products in the same way they dispose of other solid waste, it is expected that most consumers dispose of old CFLs with their standard domestic waste . As each CFL manufactured by NEMA members contains up to 5-6 milligrams of mercury, at the Maine “safety” standard of 300 nanograms per cubic meter, it would take 16,667 cubic meters of soil to “safely” contain all the mercury in a single CFL.

Some institutions consider hazardous mercury levels anything over 2ppm . Using this limit landfill containing more than 1 CFL with 5mg of mercury per cubic meter would be considered hazardous.

Note that coal power plants are the “the largest uncontrolled industrial source of mercury emissions in Canada”. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), (when coal power is used) the mercury released from powering an incandescent lamp for five years exceeds the total of (a) the mercury released by powering a comparably luminous CFL for the same period and (b) the mercury contained in the lamp. It should be noted, however that the “EPA is implementing policies to reduce airborne mercury emissions. Under regulations issued in 2005, coal-fired power plants will need to reduce their emissions by 70 percent by 2018.”. If CFLs are recycled and the mercury reclaimed, the equation tilts towards CFLs, and if non-coal sources of electricity are used, the equation tilts toward incandescents.