Energy-Conscious, Green-friendly, whatever you want to call it -- we consumers are willing to doing our part.
Of course it's no secret that fluorescent bulbs are much more energy-efficient and last longer than regular light bulbs, and their use will actually save homeowners money. So when we were told that incandescent light bulbs should be replaced with CFL or those curly-fluorescent bulbs, we, like many Americans decided to do our part for the environment. We now have CFLs in our bathrooms, our table lamps and even in our recessed kitchen lights.
BUT what I didn't know is that we cannot throw these bulbs away!! Maybe I'm the last person to know this but these bulbs contain mercury, which could potentially pollute groundwater. Thus, once a bulb burns out it must be disposed of "properly". So how do we do that? Well, if you live in Virginia (Loudoun County, Fairfax County, Arlington County, Prince William County) here's a site that can help you figure out what type of bulb you have and resources for disposal: Know Toxics
And, incidentally if one of these bulbs BREAKS in your home -- please follow the safety guidelines for cleanup: Broken CFL Lightbulbs
Here are more facts on CFL lightbulbs from Energy Star: EnergyStar
While we all want to be more energy-conscious, I think we need to share the information and get the word out. Because throwing the CFL bulbs in the trash will only serve to further harm our environment.
DISCLAIMER: While Dee is a Real Estate Agent, she wants to do her part for the environment. Feel free to contact Dee to share your tips at Dee@FineVirginiaHomes.com
Comments(4)