Fluorescent Bulbs
The City of Evanston is cooperating with the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) and has begun accepting drop-offs of spent compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) for recycling.
The City of Evanston is cooperating with the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) and has begun accepting drop-offs of spent compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) for recycling. CFL and Mercury Fact Sheet
Community members may drop off their CFLs Mondays through Fridays during business hours at either the Health Department of Health, 2100 Ridge Ave., 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; or at the Evanston Ecology Center, 2024 McCormick Blvd., 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Bring the bulbs in zip-lock-type baggies.
The City of Evanston DOES NOT take CFLs generated on a commercial, institutional or school district basis.
The Health Department will accept fluorescent tube lights; the Ecology Center will not. Each CFL contains a small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing, an average of five milligrams (roughly equivalent to the tip of a ball-point pen). Mercury poses potential health risks, therefore the CFLs should not be disposed of in the garbage if there is a recycling option.
Because there is such a small amount of mercury in CFLs, a person’s greatest risk if a bulb breaks is getting cut from glass shards! Research indicates that there is no immediate health risk should a bulb break and it is cleaned up properly.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends the use of CFLs when compared to incandescent bulbs for the following reasons:
* They produce the same amount of light, but use 2/3 less energy and last 10 times longer.
* Each CFL bulb can save you at least $25 in energy costs over the life of the bulb.
* CFLs produce about 70 percent less heat than standard incandescent bulbs and are cool to the touch.
* CFLs reduce air pollution for a cleaner environment.
If every Illinois household replaced one incandescent bulb with an 18-watt CFL, the results would be equivalent to: removing 294,000 tons of carbon emissions from the air; planting 39.4 million trees; removing over 74,000 vehicles from Illinois roads each year.
For more information on CFLs, visit www.swancc.org or call (847) 724-9205.
