Good advice if an energy-saving light bulb breaks

Do you throw an energy-saving light bulb in the rubbish bin if it breaks? And do you forget to ventilate the room afterwards? Well then, you're not alone. Many people don't know what they should do with the remains of a broken energy-saving light bulb, nor how to clean and ventilate the room afterwards. But help is at hand.

Good advice if an energy-saving light bulb breaks

1. Open the window
   When an energy-saving light bulb breaks, it releases small quantities of mercury vapour which you should avoid inhaling. Open the window and leave it open while you clean up.
2. Scrape up the broken light bulb with cardboard and wipe down the area with a wet napkin
   It is important that you collect all the pieces of the bulb. Do not sweep with a broom, as this will spread mercury around the room. Instead, use cardboard to scrape up the broken bulb. Sticky tape can be used to pick up pieces in cracks and other inaccessible places. Wipe down with a wet napkin in order to pick up the remaining small fragments.
3. Place the broken light bulb in an air-tight container and take it to the recycling centre
   Wrap up the pieces etc. carefully and place them in an air-tight container, e.g. a jam jar or freezer bag. Take it to a recycling centre or to another municipal collection point which accepts energy-saving light bulbs.
4. Ventilate the room thoroughly afterwards
   The cleaning should be followed by effective ventilation for 15 minutes. It is also a good idea to increase the ventilation of the room for the next 14 days, as there may be remains left behind.

More information on energy-saving light bulbs and mercury

Health
Avoid unnecessary exposure to mercury
The mercury vapour from an energy-saving life bulb does not present a risk to your health as long as you ventilate the room and tidy up properly afterwards.

However, you are exposed to mercury from many sources, such as fish and dental fillings, and exposure to large quantities overall may represent a health risk. This is why you should ventilate the room thoroughly and tidy up properly, in order to limit your exposure to mercury.

Leave your broom and vacuum cleaner in the cupboard
Brooms and vacuum cleaners can spread mercury to the surrounding area. The mercury will also contaminate the vacuum cleaner and broom, thus spreading mercury the next time you use them.

However, if there are remains that you cannot pick up in any other way, you should use the vacuum cleaner. It is better that the mercury is collected in the vacuum cleaner bag than left to slowly evaporate over a long period of time. Just remember to change the vacuum cleaner bag afterwards.

Children and pregnant women are particularly sensitive
Pregnant women and young children are more sensitive than other people to mercury vapour. Wherever possible, pregnant women should not tidy up after a broken energy-saving light bulb. If there are young children on the premises, it is a good idea to take them out before you tidy up.

Environment

Take care of the environment and always take your used energy-saving light bulbs to the recycling centre.

You can always take your used energy-saving light bulbs to your local recycling centre. Local municipal authorities have different collection schemes. In some places you can take energy-saving bulbs to "Miljøskabe" (protective environmental cabinets) or "Miljøbiler" (trucks for collecting hazardous waste). It is important that you do not throw your used energy-saving light bulb in the rubbish bin.

Energy-saving light bulbs save the environment from CO₂ - and save you money
Energy-saving light bulbs use only a quarter of the electricity that ordinary filament bulbs use. Reducing your electricity consumption means reducing CO₂ emissions. If every Danish household replaced seven filament bulbs in their home with energy-saving light bulbs, they would reduce their total annual CO₂ emissions by 250,000 tonnes.

Every filament bulb that you replace with an energy-saving light bulb will give you an annual saving on your electricity bill of approximately DKK 70 if you have it switched on for three hours a day. This is equivalent to approximately DKK 500 over the lifetime of the bulb.

Mercury comes from both energy-saving light bulbs and electricity generation
There must be no more than 5 mg of mercury in an energy-saving light bulb. Filament bulbs do not contain mercury.

When electricity is produced from coal, small quantities of mercury are released into the environment. The 75% lower electricity consumption of energy-saving light bulbs helps to save on coal and therefore also on the quantity of mercury in the environment.

Overall, energy-saving light bulbs cause less mercury to be released into the environment. How you act helps to determine how much less. If you dispose of your energy-saving bulbs correctly, less mercury will end up in the environment than if you had chosen a filament bulb.