CFLs require new twist in disposal - Article Review - Book Report/Review Example

Considering the environmental hazard that mercury causes, CFL manufacturers have tried to address this issue by reducing the mercury content in CFLs to 2.5 milligrams - half of the industry standard. However this is not an effective solution to curb the release of mercury into the environment. Another solution proposed in the article was to substitute CFLs with light-emitting diode (LED) lamps which are the next generation of energy-efficient light bulbs that do not use mercury. However, LED lamps are very costly and are several years from household use.

This article is significant since it emphasizes that recycling programs of CFLs has not been an effective solution to reduce the release of mercury into the environment. Since recycling is the only solution that is available to address this issue currently, the article has been able to emphasize the need to develop and implement more cost-effective and efficient methods of recycling. It has also been able to highlight the fact that the recycling programs and recycling units need to be made more convenient for the end users – the consumers. . The article highlights the issue of environmental hazard that is caused due to improper disposal of CFLs, but it does not offer any effective solution to reduce or stop the release of mercury into the environment.

The article briefly mentions the use of light-emitting diode (LED) lamps instead of CFLs but is quick to add that they are very expensive and several years from household use. Again, although some manufacturers have tried to reduce the mercury content in CFLs to 2.5 mg, it is not an effective solution to address this issue. Therefore, this article is does not really fill a void within the literature that already exists on the subject. One of the statistics provided in the article was that as per estimates made by the recycling industry, more than 300 million compact fluorescents were sold in the United States last year, out of which only about 2 percent were recycled.

However, information about why the response rate was so poor was missing. More research in on this aspect is necessary, especially from the consumer’s perspective, so that we can identify the reasons behind the poor recycling rates. This could include consumer surveys to determine the general awareness about mercury as an environmental hazard. Surveys on consumer thoughts about recycling programs and its effectiveness could also be included to help identify the reasons why recycling programs have been generally unsuccessful.

This additional information would have helped the readers to get a complete understanding about the reasons why CFLs require a new twist in disposal. Although this article is well researched and provides a lot of information on the subject, it is not well organized. For example, towards the beginning of the article it is mentioned that nine states