Editor’s Blog

The CFL Lightbulb Controversy

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We recently received the following letter from Kent Musgrave of Gilbert:

“I am very much a supporter of a greener lifestyle and read your “green” issue with enthusiasm…. However, I feel that there is something that could have a long term and negative effect in the name of helping the environment, that most consumers are unaware of. And that is the contamination of mercury through the improper disposal of CFLs. Most consumers do not realize how high the mercury content is in a CFL and have not been educated on why these bulbs should be disposed of at a hazardous collection center - and because of the hassle, I doubt that most consumers won’t just toss them into their household trash barrel. Just as I did for years before I learned…. I do have a concern that there was only a brief statement about it in the article almost as an afterthought, and no emphasis. I do have a concern that the media has such a strong voice but they are not warning consumers of this problem if disposed of incorrectly.”

Thank you, Kent! We discovered that CFLs could pose a threat of mercury contamination just as we were wrapping up this issue. In fact, we said “stop the presses!” just to be able to fit in the brief mention. We would have liked to include more, but we were simply out of time and out of space. We have, however, created a new “Environment” page in the magazine where we hope to tackle issues like this on an ongoing basis. We didn’t want to simply print one “Green” issue and leave it at that, so if you have an idea for our new page, please e-mail phxmag@citieswestpub.com