CFL Recycling

Why recycle CFLs?
All compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), including ENERGY STAR^® qualified bulbs, currently contain a small amount of mercury-about 5 milligrams (mg) per bulb. That's less than the mercury in your average watch battery, and just enough to cover the tip of a ballpoint pen. Though it's an extremely small amount of mercury, these bulbs still need to be recycled properly.

Where can I recycle my CFL?
Focus on Energy has partnered with nearly 400 retailers across the state to offer free CFL recycling to consumers. Simply bring in expired, unbroken CFLs to a participating retailer, who will ship them to an environmental management center to be recycled in accordance with environmental regulations.

Use our retailer search to find participating retailers. Enter Residential, your county, zip code, and utility information, then click on 'CFL Recycling' under 'Services Found' in the right hand column.

*Note: You can still recycle your bulb even if there are no retailers partnering with Focus on Energy in your area by contacting your local municipal solid waste agency.

CFLs are NOT hazardous.
The bulbs don't emit mercury when they're intact, in use, and properly stored or handled—possessing no harm to consumers. What many people don't realize is that the largest source of mercury in our air actually comes from burning coal to produce electricity. Unfortunately, the standard incandescent bulb uses much more electricity than a CFL, which means—using incandescent bulbs actually causes more mercury pollution than a CFL, even when you take into account the mercury in the bulb.

By comparison, some watch batteries contain 25 mg of mercury and many manual thermostats contain up to 3,000 mg. (See chart on the left.)

What do you do if a CFL breaks?
If a CFL breaks, take care in cleaning up. Even though the amount of mercury is very small, EPA recommends taking precautionary steps. For more information on these steps and mercury in general, visit energystar.gov/cflsandmercury.