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Using and Managing Energy-efficient Fluorescent and HID Lights

Using fluorescent and high-intensity discharge (HID) light bulbs (or “lamps,” as they are called by the lighting industry) instead of incandescent bulbs makes good sense because by doing so, you can save money on electric bills and help protect the environment.

Mercury is used in fluorescent light bulbs of all shapes and sizes as well as in HID lamps.  Visible light is produced when the mercury in these lights is energized electrically.

However, because they contain mercury, fluorescent and HID light bulbs must be handled, managed and disposed of properly to avoid polluting the environment

Why use fluorescents?

You save money. 

Fluorescent light bulbs use only one-fourth as much energy per unit of light produced as incandescent bulbs.  They also last up to 10 times longer.  So, while a fluorescent light may be more expensive to buy, it will actually save you money in the long run.

Your energy bill will be lower if you use fluorescents.  For example, replacing a 100-watt incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb of equivalent light output can save you as much as $50 over the life of the CFL.  Home-cooling energy costs will be lower also because fluorescents give off much less heat than incandescents.

To get the greatest energy savings, replace incandescent bulbs with fluorescents in rooms where the lights are on the most, such as your family room, living room, kitchen, dining room and porch.

The most energy-efficient CFLs will have the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star logo on their packaging.

A Minnesota Department of Commerce Energy Information Center Web page provides more information about using CFLs and other fluorescent lights in the home.  The center also has a publication, Home Lighting, about energy-efficient lighting.  To obtain a hard copy of Home Lighting, call 800-657-3710.

Fluorescent light bulbs, or lamps, come in many shapes and sizes.  They, like HID lamps, may not be thrown in the trash.  They must be recycled.

Less mercury is released into the environment. 

When we reduce electricity usage by using energy-efficient fluorescent lights, power plants need to burn less coal to meet demand.  Since coal contains minute amounts of mercury, if power plants burn less coal, less mercury will be released to the atmosphere.

Why be concerned about mercury pollution of the atmosphere?  Mercury that is released into the atmosphere eventually falls with rain and snow onto Minnesota’s land and surface waters.  Some of this mercury builds up in fish tissue as methylmercury, a neurotoxin that can adversely affect the health and development of wildlife and people who eat the fish.  In humans, methylmercury affects the central nervous system.  The Minnesota Department of Health has issued fish consumption guidelines to help people keep their exposure to mercury at a safe level (see the Fish Health Advisory Guidelines).

Other harmful emissions are reduced also. 

Because fluorescent lights use much less electricity than incandescents, their use reduces emissions of carbon dioxide a “greenhouse” gas that contributes to global warming.

Fewer new power plants are needed. 

If we use energy-saving fluorescent lights, energy demand will grow more slowly, reducing the need for electric utilities to create new generating capacity.  If utilities can avoid building new power plants, there will be less need to raise the rates their customers pay and there will be less future pollution of the environment.

Amount of mercury in fluorescent and HID lights compared to other devices

(Adapted from Energy Star Canada)

Fluorescent and HID bulbs must be recycled

Minnesota law says that because they contain mercury, fluorescent and high-intensity discharge light bulbs from households may not be placed in the trash.  This applies to fluorescent lights of all shapes and sizes, including CFLs, as well as to HID lamps, including mercury vapor, high-pressure sodium and metal halide lights.

Mercury makes these highly energy efficient lights work and cannot be eliminated completely from them.  And even though CFLs contain comparatively little mercury — 5 milligrams (mg) or less, about 1/500 as much as is in a mercury fever thermometer — they must be recycled.  The mercury glass and metal from recycled fluorescent lights can be reused to make more fluorescent lights or other products.

Storing and transporting fluorescent and HID light bulbs

Exercise care when handling and transporting fluorescent and HID light bulbs; do not drop or handle them roughly.

Store fluorescent and HID light bulbs in their original packaging somewhere inaccessible to children.  It’s a good idea to keep the original packaging; it can be used to protect bulbs during storage and when they are being transported for recycling.  If the original packaging is not available, wrap the bulb in newspaper or bubble wrap and place it in a box.  Do not use tape on the bulb, which makes recycling more difficult.

Do not break or crush fluorescent or HID light bulbs — you could be exposed to mercury.  If a bulb is broken accidentally, store and transport the pieces in a sealed container.  Include even small shards.  Ventilate the area where the light was broken.

Transport used fluorescent and HID light bulbs in the trunk, if possible.  This reduces the chance that anyone will be exposed to mercury vapor were a bulb to break.  Make sure there are no items in the trunk that can roll or shift around and break or crush the bulbs.  As an added precaution, place the bulbs in heavy-duty plastic bags that can be sealed.

Cleaning up a broken fluorescent light

Should you break one or two fluorescent light bulbs, keep people and pets out of the room.  Mercury vapor from the broken bulb is the greatest health concern.  About 20 percent of the mercury in the bulb will vaporize immediately.  Open the windows and outside doors and let the mercury vapor vent outside for about 15 minutes before you clean up the broken lights.

If more than two fluorescent light bulbs or an other mercury-containing device, like a thermometer, is broken or if you are unsure what to do, call the Minnesota Duty Officer at 800-422-0798 for 24-hour assistance.  The Duty Officer will put you in touch with someone who can advise you on cleanup.

Otherwise, follow these steps to clean up a broken fluorescent light bulbs after you have ventilated the room:

• Wearing disposable rubber or plastic gloves (if available), carefully scoop up the glass shards and any powder with one or two pieces of stiff paper or cardboard.  Do not use your hands; the shards are sharp and the powder contains a very small amount of mercury.
• Wipe the area with a damp paper towel or a disposable wet wipe to pick up any very small glass shards and the powder residue.  Sticky tape, such as duct tape, can also be used to pick up small shards and powder.  Do not use a vacuum until you have cleaned up all the visible powder and shards.
• Place all the glass shards, powder and materials you used in the cleanup (gloves, paper, towel, wet wipe and tape) in a plastic bag that can be sealed.  Place this sealed bag inside another bag and seal it.  Keep this in a safe outdoor storage location until you can take it to your local household hazardous waste facility.
• Wash your hands.
• Now you can vacuum.  Ventilate the room while and after you vacuum.  When you are done, put the vacuum bag or the contents of the canister in a double-sealed plastic bag.  Place this bag in the trash outdoors until normal disposal.

If a fluorescent light bulb breaks on a carpeted surface, follow the cleanup procedure above, using gloved hands and tape to pick up all possible glass shards and powder before you vacuum.  A sticky tape, such as duct tape, is particularly useful for picking up shards and powder on carpet.

The MPCA has prepared the following fact sheet for reference:

• Fluorescent light bulbs: Use them, recycle them

Cleaning up a broken HID lamp

High-intensity discharge light bulbs, or lamps, are often used outdoors to provide security lighting.  Among the many places that they are used are along streets and alleys, in parking lots, in backyards, and on farmsteads.

HID lamps contain more mercury than fluorescents — from 20 to 100 mg.  The mercury is sealed in a glass or quartz capsule that has wire leads.  This capsule is protected by an outer glass covering.  If the inner capsule is intact, the damaged lamp should be double sealed in plastic bags and taken to a household hazardous waste facility.

However, if the inner capsule has been broken and the mercury ends up on the ground, it will be impossible to recover the mercury.  In this case, just pick up the pieces of the lamp and put them in the trash outdoors.

If the capsule containing the mercury was broke above or on a hard surface, wear gloves to pick up the glass shards.  Wipe the mercury up with a damp cloth or pick it up with sticky tape.  Place the materials in a plastic bag, seal the bag, place the sealed bag in another bag, seal the outer bag, and take the double-bagged debris and cleanup materials to your local household hazardous waste facility.

Recycling your fluorescent and HID light bulbs

Residential fluorescent and HID lamps must be recycled.  But before that can happen, they must be taken to a collection site.  There are several options for lamp collection, depending on where you live.

Electric utilities

We suggest you first check the internet site of your electric utility, since they often have arrangements with retailers, such as hardware stores, to accept used residential fluorescent lights.  For a list of these, go to the Earth 911 Web site or call 800-253-2687.  In some cases, a utility will give its customers coupons that will cover the cost of recycling.  Here are the Web addresses for some of the power companies that provide electricity to Minnesota customers:

• Connexus Energy (Coupons are available.) 
  • list of cooperating retailers
• Great River Energy
• Minnesota Power
  • list of cooperating retailers
• Ottertail Power
• Xcel Energy
  • list of cooperating retailers

Stores that sell fluorescent and HID lamps

For a list of retailers that accept used fluorescent and HID lamps, go to the Earth 911 Web site or call 800-253-2687.

County household hazardous waste programs

Many county household hazardous waste programs in Minnesota accept used residential fluorescent and HID light bulbs for recycling.  If a county program does not, it should be able to direct you to the nearest location that does.  See the MPCA's Household Hazardous Waste Local Collection Programs Web page to find the phone number and location of your county’s household hazardous waste facility or call the MPCA at 651-296-6300 (in the Twin Cities metro area) or 800-657-3864 (from outside the metro area).

Special collection events for the public

Some electric utilities and local collection events are listed below.  Check this Web page periodically for other event listings.  Some collection events may be restricted to local residents or limit the number of fluorescent lights that can be turned in.  There may be a fee, but free recycling may be offered.

Recycling requirements for businesses and organizations

Businesses are required to recycle their fluorescent bulbs through the Universal Waste Rules.  Information is available on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Web site.

For a list of companies that can transport or dispose of fluorescent bulbs, see the Rethink Recycling Web site.

Information and Assistance

For more information on household hazardous wastes—including safe disposal of paints, solvents, yard chemicals, and more—and collection programs, contact your county’s solid waste office. To find a local program, visit the Household Hazardous Waste Web page or call 651-296-6300 or 800-657-3864 (out of metro area only).

For information on most Twin Cities metro counties, visit Rethink Recycling.