Lately, I've been hearing more and more discussion to suggest that CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) are actually worse for the planet than traditional incandescent ones. The argument is this: since CFLs contain small amounts of mercury and other heavy metals, the risk of those materials leaking into soils and ground water is not worth the energy savings they provide. The argument is only sound if we all threw our CFLs in the garbage which, by the way, you should NOT do. Return them to a drop-off centre (The Home Depot across Canada or your Municipal Household Hazardous Waste drop-off). Do your part and dispose of these items using Hazardous Household Waste (HHW) programs. Another argument I've heard is that most (if not all) CFL bulbs are munifactured in China and have to be shipped long distances to light our homes in North America. Whereas many incandescant bulbs are manufactured in the US, much closer. There's no arguing with this fact and so it all comes down to a personal choice. For my money, the CFLs that usually last about 10x longer than incandescants and cost me less in energy are worth the long trip from China. This is an exception to my buy local rule. If you choose to go forth and use these energy-saving CFLs, once they've served their purpose, make sure you save them and send them off to a HHW area to be recycled. (The Home Depot has drop-off centers throughout Canada for CFLs, batteries and empty paint cans) Contact your municipality to find out when the next HHW drop-off is. Here are your HHW options in Toronto: - Drop off fluorescent tubes and CFLs at one of the City's six Solid Waste drop-off depots that take household hazardous waste (HHW) (PDF). You may also get a list of depot locations by calling 416-338-2010.
- Make an appointment with Toronto's "Toxics Taxi" service by calling 416-392-4330 if you have a minimum of 10 litres or up to a maximum of 50 litres of HHW to dispose of.
- Bring fluorescent tubes and CFLs (along with any other HHW) to your local Community Environment Day event.
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