Conserve Electricity This Year

Are you thinking about New Year's resolutions yet? Well here's one to try on for size: switch out your old incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL's). The easiest way to do this is to go out and buy a pack of CFL's and replace your incandescent light bulbs as they burn out with CFL's, and then vow to never buy an incandescent bulb again!

The benefits of doing this are both monetary and environmentally sound. CFL's do cost more up front, but they last about ten times longer than ordinary light bulbs and use about 75% less energy. This is because most of the energy that is used by incandescent light bulbs is expelled as heat, rather than light, while CFL's use energy for producing only light. The trick with CFL's is to never ever throw them away!! In order to be more energy efficient, CFL's must be made with small amounts of mercury inside. If there is a concentration of CFL's disposed of in landfills, the accumulated mercury will leech into the earth and pollute ground water. Here are some tips on how to handle (and recycle) CFL's safely:

• Check with your local municipalities for drop-off points where you can take CFL's to be recycled. If you live in Salt Lake County, check here for some suggestions. Nationally, you can also take spent or broken CFL's to any Home Depot or Ikea store.
• Put the bulb in two plastic bags. Most states require this so as to protect the environment, and the recycling handlers, in case the bulb gets broken.
• Clean up broken bulbs with caution. Use two pieces of stiff cardboard to "sweep" up the pieces and powder and place all of the broken bits and clean-up materials in a sealed plastic bag, placed inside another plastic bag. Take them to the recycling center and be sure to indicate that the bulb has broken.
• Wear disposable gloves whenever cleaning up broken bulbs. Never handle broken bulbs with your bare hands and dispose of your gloves along with your other clean up materials.
• Always sweep up, and never vacuum, broken CFL's.

So, this year, if you haven't already done so, switch out those light bulbs! To see where to recycle CFL's outside of the Salt Lake Valley, check out the EPA's website. And if you're worried about changing your soft light to the harsher, brighter light of a fluorescent, don't worry about it. There are now several varieties available that have different lighting options. So check them out and conserve some electricity this year.

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