In setting out on another trip to visit with grandchildren (and, of course, their parents) in Michigan, I grabbed up some reading material for those free moments that might arise. One of the "grabs" was an insert from our local Public Works department that accompanied the monthly utility bill. We're riding along, I'm driving, and I asked Sheila to scan the insert to see if there was anything of significance. She reached page 3 and while reading to herself began to breathe more heavily then before. I asked and she read the following to me.
Never Put CFLs in the Trash
Energy Efficient Light Bulbs Contain Mercury
Q: When an energy efficient light bulb breaks, is it okay to vacuum it up and throw it in the trash?
A: NO - energy efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) contain mercury. The amount is small, but it is still very dangerous to humans if leaked into the soil or water. In addition, the mercury vapor leaked into the air at the time of the breakage is dangerous to anyone present in the room.
HOW TO DISPOSE OF CFLs
Place burned out CFLs that are NOT broken in two re-sealable zipper storage bags (bag within a bag). Take them to Home Depot, Lowe's or any other recycling center that will accept them. Or, take them to the Manassas Transfer Station on Household Hazardous Waste collection days (April 2, May 7, June 4, July 9, August 6, Sept. 10, 8 a.m. to noon).
BROKEN CFLs MUST BE HANDLED CAREFULLY
1. Leave the room for 15 minutes or more. Take pets with you and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out. Open a window. Shut off the heat, air conditioning or fans.
2. When you return, carefully scoop up glass fragments and powder using an index card.
3. Place fragments in a glass jar with metal lid or in two re-sealable zipper storage bags (bag within a bag).
4. Use sticky tape to pick up any remaining glass or powder. Place used tape in jar or bag.
5. Wipe area with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes and place in a jar or bag.
6. Wash your hands. Seal the jar or bag and place outside your home. Take to recycling center or the Manassas Transfer Station on Household Hazardous Waste collection days.
7. The next few times before you vacuum, open a window and shut off circulating air. After you vacuum, wait 15 minutes before closing the window and turning on air.
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And with that the blurb ended. It too must have been out of breath. My 1st reaction was "gad zooks." I then immediately thought that this must be an April Fools joke - but it was only March 24. I then thought of those fluorescent tubes I had handled in the past and how I had surely done so in violation of someone's law and how in having done so I had probably shortened my life by years. For those who know me, ziploc bags are a piece of cake. The other steps are going to be a challenge. I haven't had an index card for years. Time to stock up knowing how clumsy I am. Wet wipes - not a problem either. As for jars (I opt for them over bags unless they tell me how thick the bag must be), we still have a few old Mason and Ball jars downstairs and I'll have to check on lids. We'll handle that task alright; if we get that far. That's because opening the windows will be a problem. We so seldom open them and when we do it is usually to wash them. That is a project - not washing them, but opening them. You see our windows stick - and do they stick! Putty knives and patience are always needed. It could take many (apparently precious ones at that) minutes to open a single window. It will probably take two of us to handle a breakage and while Sheila is struggling with the window(s), I'll tackle the A/C or furnace. Of course, the problem is even greater for us as the "next few times before you vacuum ..." means the window ordeal does not pass with the breakage but it continues. Now, sealing the jar or bag and placing outside your home presents another problem. Where to place it, in proximity to what, and for how long? Since Home Depots, Lowe's and other transfer stations won't take the broken CFLs, we would need to wait until the next Hazardous Waste collection day. Heaven forbid the breakage occurs after September 10. It would be a long winter before April arrived. What happens if we have the grandchildren visiting? If, as the blurb states "the mercury vapor leaked into the air at the time of the breakage is dangerous to anyone present in the room," is it more so to children? Do we chase the children out of the room - but how far away? And will they stay away? Of course not! That means Sheila goes with the grandchildren and I'm "stuck" with the stuck windows and juggling all the other required tasks. Oh well - progress always comes at a price.
Fortunately Sheila read the blurb to me early in the trip and I had plenty of time to think about how to handle plans before the first changes begin (with 100w bulbs) in 2012. Satisfied that I'd be stuck with the windows I knew it was time for a trip, in this case a pilgrimage, to the birthplace of Thomas Alva Edison. The home where he was born and then raised for his first 7 years is in Milan, Ohio, along the way and thus not a major deviation from our travels. Surely our presence in his childhood environment would yield an answer to this challenge. After all, it was Edison who put us in this predicament. Although he did not invent the incandescent light as others had devised incandescent light systems before him, those others had failed to find a way to make it a commercial product. Edison did and thus he is credited with inventing the first commercial incandescent light. Well I pondered, and I pondered, while in the presence of his home, but I found no auras or signs that were of any help. It was left to me. The answer: We came back from Michigan with a trunk loaded with 100w incandescent bulbs and I'm on my way out to buy more. At the very least I will have bought more time to resolve this challenge. The only thing I will have to worry about for the first year or two will be those strange bags and jars that show up in my yard deposited by frustrated neighbors who don't know what to do with the darned things over the winter and who are upset with me for my incandescent bulb collection. Oh well...
Edison's Birthplace and childhood home - Milan, Ohio
SYB or save your bulbs ...
...til later...
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