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With the surge in CFL sales has come increasing public awareness about the mercury content in CFLs and concerns about proper disposal. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin, but the amount in CFLs is very small—typically about 5 milligrams (mg). In comparison, mercury-based fever thermometers contain 0.5 to 3 grams of mercury, 100 to 600 times more mercury than a typical CFL. And CFLs are not a major source of mercury emissions—the the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates they provide less than 0.01 percent of total U.S. emissions, while coal-burning power plants represent 40 percent. Given that a CFL uses about one-third as much energy as an incandescent bulb that provides the same light output, using CFLs instead of incandescent bulbs actually results in a net decrease in mercury emissions.
Although CFLs contain relatively small amounts of mercury, proper disposal practices are still necessary when the bulbs burn out. CFLs can be recycled, yet challenges remain: Lamp recycling and disposal regulations vary by state and locality, and a wide-ranging recycling infrastructure does not yet exist. Nonetheless, a few utilities and related entities are working around these challenges to offer programs that provide education—and sometimes incentives—to encourage CFL recycling.
Online Information
energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/ Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf for the proper way to clean up a broken CFL.
Utility and Related State-Level Efficiency Programs
Some utilities have gone beyond providing information on their web sites to developing programs that actively enable consumers to recycle or dispose of CFLs responsibly. For example, Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy program coordinates CFL recycling for Cedarburg Light & Water Utility customers, who can drop off their unbroken CFLs for free at a local True Value Hardware store. Another Wisconsin utility, River Falls Municipal Utility, offers CFL recycling at its utility office. Stoughton Utilities in Wisconsin offers a unique CFL bulb exchange incentive: Customers can bring up to 10 CFLs for recycling to two hardware stores and receive $1.00 off for each new CFL purchased as a replacement for recycled bulbs. Stoughton Utilities then collects the old bulbs for recycling.
Jo-Carroll Energy Cooperative in northwestern Illinois recently launched a CFL recycling program. The recycling service is free; consumers can drop off used CFLs at utility offices as well as at several businesses. And in October 2007, ComEd announced its partnership with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and Ace Hardware to launch a pilot CFL recycling program. About 150 participating local Ace Hardware stores in northern Illinois accepted used CFLs from ComEd customers through December 31 and disposed of them in IEPA-approved recycling facilities.
As part of its Change a Light campaign, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) announced it will be providing information on where and how the public can recycle used CFLs. In addition, PG&E planned to recycle CFLs collected at the public kick-off events in Berkeley and San Francisco as well as expand the Take It Back recycling program it started in March 2007 in Tehama County, California.
Xcel Energy: Bulb Recycling Program
In Minnesota, the legislature has enacted statutes prohibiting the disposal of mercury-containing lamps in solid waste, and directing public utilities that provide electric service to 200,000 or more customers to establish a system to collect and recycle lamps. One of the longest running utility-sponsored lamp recycling programs in the U.S. is the Bulb Recycling program offered by Xcel Energy in Minnesota, which was launched in 1993. This program covers the cost for residential and small business customers to recycle up to 10 bulbs per year (including CFLs, fluorescent tubes, and high-intensity discharge lamps) at county recycling centers, or at one of a number of local hardware stores.
Currently 21 counties or cities that are within or near Xcel Energy’s service territory participate. Xcel Energy finds that the majority of bulbs (about 90 percent) are recycled at the county recycling centers, where the service is free to consumers. The utility reimburses county recycling centers for their recycling, administrative, labor, and storage costs, which average between $0.50 and $0.55 per bulb.
Retailers charge consumers a recycling fee of $0.50 to $2.00, depending on the size of the bulb, and Xcel Energy provides a $0.50 coupon to offset this fee. Coupons are available to customers on the utility web site; in addition, a coupon is sent to customers once a year in a bill insert. Retailers can also order coupons and offer them to customers at the store. Mercury Technologies of Minnesota, which administers the retailer aspect of the program, recruited the participating retailers, provides the stores with bins for recycling, picks up the bins, and recycles the bulbs. Mercury Technologies also collects the coupons and reimburses the retailers. Xcel Energy then reimburses Mercury Technologies $0.50 per bulb.
The program is marketed to customers on the utility web site (xcelenergy.com/bulbrecycling) and in bill inserts. In addition, retailers can hang up signs in their stores that say “Recycling Provided by Xcel Energy.” Xcel Energy’s 2007 budgets for the residential and small business aspects of the program are $162,000 and $30,000, respectively. The goals for the program in 2007 are to recycle 155,000 units from residential customers and 27,000 units from small business customers, and the utility expects to meet or slightly exceed these goals.
Kim Sherman, product portfolio manager with Xcel Energy notes, “It’s been great to have the county recycling centers on board because they are able to bring in a lot of bulbs. The key with them is getting them to invoice us on a regular basis, in order to avoid getting one large invoice near the end of the year. Mercury Technologies does a great job in recruiting the small hardware stores, which really present some viable options for people who don’t have county recycling centers near them. So if a utility has a service territory that’s really spread out, getting retailers on board is a great way to try to access those areas.”
Several other utilities in the state also work with Mercury Technologies and provide coupons toward CFL recycling at area hardware retailers, including Connexus Energy, Dakota Electric Association, East Central Energy, Glencoe Power and Light Commission, Grand Marais Public Utilities Commission, McLeod Cooperative Power, Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative, Minnesota Power, North Itasca Electric Cooperative, and Stearns Electric Association.
EWEB: Lane County Lamp Recycling Coalition
Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) began to heavily promote CFLs in the wake of the West Coast energy crisis of 2000 and 2001. Bob Lorenzen, Demand-Side Management Programs Manager at EWEB, notes, “We heard from our customers that they wanted the utility to take some responsibility for end-of-life issues with these lamps. We decided that convenience was a priority concern that we had for customers. Of all the avenues we looked at, we felt that the retail-based option was the most convenient because customers would be going in to retailers anyway to replace a burned-out lamp.”
EWEB was instrumental in developing a pilot residential fluorescent lamp recycling program, which ran from October 2004 to October 2005 in Eugene and Springfield. The pilot involved a coalition of area utilities (Blachly-Lane Cooperative, Emerald Public Utility District, Lane Electric Cooperative, Springfield Utility Board, and EWEB); Lane County Public Works, Waste Management Division; Oregon Department of Environmental Quality; the Energy Outlet; and the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. Eleven retailers participated in the pilot recycling program, which was free to residential customers. During the pilot, CFL recycling increased from about 1 percent to almost 6.7 percent, while linear tube recycling increased from about 4.3 percent to 16.3 percent.
Because of the success of the pilot, the coalition and retailers decided to continue the recycling program. Currently, Lane County Public Works, Waste Management Division acts as the program manager, while the five utilities contribute marketing funds based on the percentage of customers they serve in the Eugene-Springfield area. Thirteen locally-owned hardware and lighting retailers now participate, with no fee to the consumer (Lane County pays for the recycling costs). One of the participating retailers, Jerry’s Home Improvement Center, collects the majority of lamps in the program (about 60 percent in 2007) at their two locations, and delivers the lamps to the Lane County Waste Facility on a monthly basis with their other hazardous waste recycling. Lane County picks up lamps from the other retailers on a quarterly basis.
Marketing efforts include radio ads three times a year, newspaper ads for the fall home show in early October and a green home show in January, a brochure that can be used as a handout or bill insert, and 11x17 posters on stiff cardstock for the retailers to post at their businesses. Including CFLs and linear tubes, the program recycled about 17,500 lamps in 2005, 22,000 lamps in 2006, and 22,000 lamps in 2007. Linear tubes are the bulk of the collected lamps at 78 percent in 2007, compared to 72 percent in 2005 and 74 percent in 2006. In 2005, CFLs were 13.4 percent of lamps collected, compared to 14 percent in 2006 and 11 percent in 2007.
In the final evaluation report of the pilot program, total cost estimates (including recycling, marketing, and program administration costs) averaged $3.74 per bulb and $0.46 per mg of mercury, with costs for an ongoing program estimated to fall to $1.06 per lamp and $0.14 per mg of mercury.
Since the pilot ended and the ongoing program began, a downward trend in costs has occurred. “When we started the pilot, the recycling costs were slightly above $0.50 a lamp for CFLs and about $0.10 to $0.15 a foot for linear lamps,” says Lorenzen. “Now, recycling costs are down to around $0.30 a lamp for CFLs and about $0.05 a foot for linear lamps. In addition, our pilot budget for marketing was around $15,000. Now, we spend less than $3,000 on promotions per year, including radio and print ads.” Lane County is also spending less time on the collection process. Ultimately, Lorenzen says, “we have likely beat the decreased cost targets identified in the evaluation report because we’re not having to invest as much time, money, and effort to continue the recycling program.”
Efficiency Maine: The First Statewide Program
Efficiency Maine (the energy division of the Maine Public Utilities Commission) offers electrical efficiency programs throughout the state, funded through a systems benefit charge levied on electric ratepayers. As part of its residential programs, Efficiency Maine promotes Energy Star–labeled CFLs and fixtures. Between 2005 and 2007, Efficiency Maine moved over 1 million CFLs.
In the first quarter of 2007, the mercury issue came to a head when a Prospect, Maine resident broke a CFL in her home. She contacted the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), who told her one option was to contact a commercial hazardous materials cleanup contractor. According to news stories, the contractor told her the cleanup would cost $2,000. This story received a significant amount of negative press attention, and the numbers of CFLs sold during this period declined. Shortly after that, the state passed a legislative order instructing the Maine Public Utilities Commission and the DEP to develop a program to support CFL recycling.
Richard Bacon, Efficiency Maine program manager, says, “Because the mercury issue was beginning to affect the number of CFLs moved, we had to address it very quickly and very vigorously.” As a result, Efficiency Maine in conjunction with the DEP developed and launched the first statewide CFL recycling program in June 2007. Over 214 retailers in the state currently participate, including hardware stores, lumberyards, grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, and even one car dealership. “Every week, we have a few more retailers signing on,” reports Bacon.
Efficiency Maine uses field implementation contractors, who recruit retailers and provide field services to all the participating stores in the state. The DEP offered training to Efficiency Maine and its field reps in proper handling of the bulbs. Graybar Electric, a national electrical wholesaler, provides the buckets for recycling (each of which hold 50 to 90 CFLs). The field reps place buckets in participating stores, and train sales associates on the program. FedEX provides pick-up and shipping of full buckets to Veolia Environmental Services, Technical Solutions for recycling.
Marketing efforts include newspaper ads, point-of-purchase materials (including 6x6 and 8.5x11 cards) that serve as counter displays, a mouse pad on each service desk where employees can place a CFL that says “recycle,” and decals for placement in store windows. In addition, the Efficiency Maine web site lists contact information for stores that offer lamp recycling across the state.
The CFL Recycling program is free to both consumers and retailers; Efficiency Maine covers all program costs. Currently the recycling cost per CFL averages about $1.00, but Bacon expects this price to go down over time. “Because CFLs are so cost-effective, I just look at this program as part of our marketing costs—because it completes the cycle. It takes away that barrier: Any question in the back of a consumer’s mind of ‘How am I going to get rid of this thing?’ is answered. And if you remove a barrier, your sales numbers will go up.” In fact, Bacon reports that Efficiency Maine’s 2007 CFL sales are ahead of those of 2006.
Lessons Learned: Simplicity, Ease of Use, and Partnerships
Whether utilities and related efficiency organizations have offered CFL recycling for many years, like Xcel Energy, or for only a few months, like Efficiency Maine, they offer useful insights for other entities seeking to offer similar services. Carla Hahn, associate product portfolio manager with Xcel Energy, encourages utilities to work with county recycling centers as well as mom-and-pop hardware stores that are accessible to customers throughout their service territories. Although no big-box stores are currently participating in Xcel Energy’s Bulb Recycling program, Hahn believes that, “eventually the big box stores might get involved as well, due to the increasing interest in recycling.”
Bob Lorenzen of EWEB notes that it is critical to involve retailers in the design of the program: “What made it so successful for us is seeking their input, because they’re the ones who are going to be dealing with the lamps and the customers. So you have to make it easy for them and make it retailer-friendly.” He notes that none of the national big-box retailers currently participate in EWEB’s recycling program. In fact, “the mom-and-pop retailers viewed participating as a competitive edge they would have over the big-box retailers they were competing against. Customers who want to recycle their lamps are going to take their lamps to those mom-and-pop retailers, and while they’re in the store, they’re likely to buy something.” Lorenzen also emphasizes the importance of partnering with the local solid waste agency. “They have a strong interest in not seeing those lamps go into the landfill.”
Richard Bacon of Efficiency Maine agrees that partnerships with retailers and local agencies are crucial. “Absolutely two things have to happen. You have to build a good working relationship with the state Department of Environmental Protection. They were great to work with, they offered us training, we have a common purpose, and we get things done by cooperating. Also, get your participating stores into the program early, listen to them, and make this as easy as possible for them to participate. The more barriers you put up, the lower response you’re going to have.” He adds, “Let’s face it: We’re asking stores to accept a toxic substance into their building. If you really look at it, that’s pretty serious. But timing, credibility, and relationships make it work.”
Awareness of the potential health hazards of mercury in fluorescent lamps will continue to increase as growing numbers of consumers adopt efficient lighting. We advise utilities to proactively address the proper disposal and recycling of CFLs they promote.
