This lunacy is growing like wildfire across the country but before you run out and buy a bunch of those curly light bulbs, get a quick education. What will happen when millions of these things end up in the trash heap with the mercury content they will generate.

Bright idea aims to save energy

Lawmaker proposes ban on incandescent light bulbs if fluorescent lights can be recycled

ALBANY — The chairman of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee wants to ban traditional incandescent light bulbs by 2012 in favor of more energy-efficient compact fluorescent models.

Robert Sweeney, a Suffolk County Democrat, proposed that a ban be imposed only if the state Department of Environmental Conservation shows that there is adequate recycling for the fluorescent bulbs, which contain small amounts of toxic mercury.

“This a way to improve air quality and reduce energy costs,” said Sweeney, whose bill would impose the ban by June 1, 2012. He said there is no Senate sponsor so far for the bill, which he introduced Monday.

Senate Environmental Conservation Committee Chairman Carl Marcellino’s office could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Compact bulbs use two-thirds less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer, with an average life span of five years, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A compact bulb can save $30 or more in energy costs before it burns out.

Other states are also looking at phasing out the traditional bulbs, which waste about 90 percent of the energy they use as heat.

In Minnesota, lawmakers are considering a 25-cent sales tax on each incandescent bulb. In Connecticut, a 10-cent sales tax is under consideration.

Lawmakers in New York, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Carolina and Texas are considering rules that would require or encourage state agencies to replace incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient bulbs in state buildings.

Disposal of the fluorescent bulbs is handled by localities, which accept them only during periodic hazardous-waste recycling days. Recycling proponents say recycling must be made easier for consumers.

In 2003, when homeowners disposed of 145 million compact bulbs, only about 2 percent were recycled, according to a study by the Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers, based in Calistoga, Calif.

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin and is especially dangerous for children and fetuses. Most exposure to mercury in New York state comes from eating fish contaminated with mercury emitted from coal-fired power plants in the Ohio River Valley.