Maine’s Model CFL Recycling Program

Harley Barnes, Lockheed Martin
Richard Bacon, Efficiency Maine, Maine Public Utilities Commission

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Abstract

On June 14, 2007, the Maine Public Utilities Commission and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection announced that Efficiency Maine, a program administered by the Maine Public Utilities Commission, and the Department of Environmental Protection were launching the first statewide compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) recycling program in the nation. The authors believe that this program merits careful consideration by jurisdictions sponsoring CFL programs.

CFLs contain a small amount of mercury and therefore qualify in many states as hazardous waste when they are ready for disposal. Under some regulations, disposal of hazardous waste requires packaging the waste product, labeling it, and transporting it to a qualified hazardous waste collection site. The burden of packaging, labeling, finding a qualified collection site, and transporting a CFL to the site is expected to severely discourage households' compliance with such regulations. Efficiency Maine's recycling program reduces the household burden of handling a burned-out CFL into a drive to a local lighting retailer. As of May 2008, Efficiency Maine has recruited 208 of the 307 retailers currently participating in its Residential Lighting Program to voluntarily serve as qualified collection sites for burned-out CFLs. It has accompanied this with a public education program using mass communications and marketing collateral at the retailer sites. This paper describes Maine's recycling program and suggests that it serves as a best practice for CFL recycling programs designed specifically for households. Recommended best practice program elements are described.