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Compact fluorescent, fluorescent, high intensity discharge (HID) and neon light bulbs contain mercury. 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 lanps, including mercury vapor, high-pressure sodium and metal halide lights.  Even though CFLs contain comparitively little mercury—5 milligrams (mg) or less, about 1/400 as much as is in a mercury fever thermometer--they must be recycled.

What should I do if I break a fluorescent bulb?

Because of the mercury in fluorescent light bulbs, breaking a fluorescent bulb is not like breaking a regular light bulb.  If you break a fluorescent bulb, keep people and pets out of the room.  Open the windows and exterior doors to vent the mercury vapor to the outside for about 15 minutes before you clean up.  Put on rubber gloves and carefully pick up the fragments, glass shards, and any powder with sticky tape.  Once you have picked up any visible pieces, you can vacuum.  Place all the pieces and used clean-up materials (including the vacuum bag) in a plastic bag and seal it.  Be sure to wash your hands after clean up.  Call your county household hazardous waste facility for disposal instructions.  If you break more than two fluorescent bulbs or if you are unsure what to do, call the Minnesota Duty Officer at 1-800-422-0798 any time, day or night. 

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.

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.

Other harmful emissions are also reduced.

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

Reduction Tips

Mercury can also be found in other products, such as older (non-digital) thermometers, thermostats, appliances, button batteries, electric relays, electronics, measurement and control devices and tilt switches in silent light switches, security systems, space headers, and automobile hood switches. To reduce your family's exposure, look for mercury-free alternatives and always properly dispose of any product containing mercury.

To learn more about sources of mercury, how it is released, and what we can do to help protect our families, animals and the environment, see the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency website.

Storing and transporting flourescent 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 and pets.  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; it 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.