Disposal Available for CFLs

Benton PUD, in conjunction with the Benton County Household Hazardous Waste Facility, now offers a place for the disposal of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).  People may drop off used CFL’s at either Benton PUD offices.

Benton PUD encourages customers to use energy-efficient CFLs to save energy to help lower their electric bills and has distributed CFLs as part of its conservation program.

CFL sales in the Northwest have increased by 300 percent since 2004, according to Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance.  CFLs use about one-fourth the amount of energy of a comparable incandescent light bulb.  According to the Energy Star® website,”If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star® qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.”

CFLs contain a small amount of mercury (one-fifth of that found in a typical watch battery) so Benton PUD has set up the program to facilitate safe and proper disposal of the bulbs. 

Benton PUD has offices located at 2721 W. 10th in Kennewick and 250 N Gap Road in Prosser.  CFLs may be dropped off Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Benton PUD and the Benton County Household Hazardous Waste Facility dispose the CFLs in an environmentally conscious manner.