Re:Ireland becomes the first country in the world to ban the...
by BrandonM on Monday December 10, 2007 @08:19PM
(#88037)
I just hunted down the link to the article I was talking about:
http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200707/mrgreen_mailbag.asp
Note the required cleanup procedures. I think they really need to advertise these types of things a little better. My roommate broke one earlier this year and cleaned it up the same way someone would clean up an incandescent.
As for the mercury issue, fluorescent light bulbs are much more difficult to dispose of safely. I was reading an article by the Sierra Club (an environmental group) which was arguing that if fluorescent light bulbs use 1/3 the energy of incandescents, and all of that energy is produced by burning coal, then the amount of mercury in the bulbs is approximately equal to the amount of coal saved over 5 years (I'm estimating here, but this was the general idea). Not exactly the most flattering numbers if you ask me.