Canadians will soon have a law on how to dispose of mercury-filled light bulbs

CBC News Nova Scotia

“Dartmouth-Cole Harbour MP Darren Fisher, who introduced the private member’s bill, said there were no federal regulations outlining how to dispose of light bulbs.

“You can take your mercury-bearing light bulb, and you can throw it in your garbage bag and put it to the curb,” he said.

One regular, 13-watt residential compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) — the curly looking ones that are slowly replacing the traditional, round incandescent bulbs — contains on average 3.5 milligrams of mercury. Energy Star-certified CFLs contain 2.5 milligrams or less. Fluorescent tubes contain up to 12 milligrams.

• Compact Fluorescent bulbs often end up in the trash

Fisher said about 1,150 kilograms of mercury end up in Canadian landfills each year, and can contaminate the environment.

Mercury is also listed as a toxic substance under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

“So this is an incredibly big issue,” he said.”

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