Against a background of UK and EU commitments to phase out incandecent light-bulbs over the next few years, the low-energy alternatives are getting some less than favourable press currently as people become aware of some of the possible drawbacks. For instance, the mercury content of the bulbs is being cited as an issue which could counter-balance the advantages in terms of reduced energy consumption and CO2 emission.
I heard on a radio documentary recently (but haven't been able to substantiate it online so far) that the mercury in a low-energy bulb actually exceeds the European limits for landfill. That risk might be mitigated if local recycling centres were properly set up to capture low-energy bulbs. No prizes for guessing whether our local recycling centre is suitably equipped... as far as I can tell, our lot still don't have any facilities for dealing with slightly older technology - like non-rechargable batteries - so I'm not holding my breath. Better not smash any low-energy bulbs, then...
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