Yes and no.
A bulb that is not broken does not emit mercury through contact or regular lamp usage. The bulbs are only a potential hazard if they are broken or if a large amount of old CFLs collect in your local landfill causing a large scale contamination.
If you bust your bulb, remove children and pregnant women from the site and see the EPA website for clean up instructions: just click here.
Don't let a little bit of mercury inhibit a lot of energy efficiency! Recycle. Recycle. Recycle!
The environmental benefits of the CFLs are dependent upon our diligence to properly handle and recycle the old bulbs. Efforts to collect and recycle the CFLs are growing rapidly as people embrace this eco-friendly light source on a larger and larger scale.
Home Depot and IKEA are the first superstores to step-up to the plate launching CFLs recycling programs. Simply take your old bulbs to the nearest retail outlet and safely deposit them in the specially designed containers. You can also go to EasyPak and get personal mail-order bins to dispose of CFLs. They also provide recycling and disposal bins for other products including batteries, thermostats, and general electronics. They have a variety of bin products that you simply fill and mail. EasyPak does the rest.
So, avoid your landfill if at all possible! And no matter where you live, there is an option here for you.
Source: BecauseAction.com
