DrMattP

There is about 4mg (four thousandths of a gramme) of mercury in a compact fluorescent lamp.

This should not leak out, unless the glass or seals are broken.

I believe that some of the mercury is absorbed into the glass of the bulb over many years and this is one of the factors that limits their working life to 6-15 years.

Because mercury is contained in CFLs it is important that provisions should be made for their recycling once they have completed their useful life.

Some countries are beginning to require retailers selling CFLs to offer recycling services while other countries are opting to improve their domestic recycling services so that they can better handle hazardous substances found in the home, such as pesticides and batteries.

It makes sense to include CFLs in future plans for recycling domestic waste

The Ban The Bulb campaign (www.banthebulb.org) is also advocating technology neutral minimum standards for the energy performance of domestic lights which means that we will be able to abandon CFLs as soon as the next generation of lighting technologies are able to beat their lights per lumen (unit of light) per m2.

CFLs offer a 60-70% improvement in energy efficiency compared to domestic incandescents, so represent a significant step forward even though they are not perfect.

Warmest regards,

Matt