If you use electricity from a coal-fired power plant, that plant emits TONS of mercury into the atmosphere, destroying any theoretical advantage in that regard from CFLs. Plus, the emitted mercury almost certainly winds up in your air, water, soil, etc.
The EPA figures that *including the mercury in the lamp,* a CFL over its lifetime is responsible for about 1/3 the Hg that an equivalently-powered incandescent causes to be emitted.
Reducing landfilling of CFLs would reduce Hg emissions even further. Which is why recycling for CFLs is widespread. Every Lowe's, Target, Home Depot, and Ace Hardware in the US takes CFLs for recycling.
The mercury issue's a bit of a red herring.
If you use electricity from a coal-fired power plant, that plant emits TONS of mercury into the atmosphere, destroying any theoretical advantage in that regard from CFLs. Plus, the emitted mercury almost certainly winds up in your air, water, soil, etc.
The EPA figures that *including the mercury in the lamp,* a CFL over its lifetime is responsible for about 1/3 the Hg that an equivalently-powered incandescent causes to be emitted.
Reducing landfilling of CFLs would reduce Hg emissions even further. Which is why recycling for CFLs is widespread. Every Lowe's, Target, Home Depot, and Ace Hardware in the US takes CFLs for recycling.