Chicago’s lack of recycling facilities may become an issue as more people start using energy saving compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of traditional incandescent bulbs.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs, became popular over the past few years as residents try making the switch to more energy efficient behaviors. The CFL bulbs use 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 years longer, according to Larry Merritt, spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Environment.

But as more people make the switch, there have been concerns about the mercury levels in the bulbs and whether or not they are safe.

Merritt said the city has been encouraging residents to switch to CFL bulbs for some time now.

“We give them out for free,” Merritt said. “People can get them at different fairs, city offices, aldermanic offices and some city events.”

Merritt said City Council hearings were held on Jan. 7 at City Hall to discuss the safety of the bulbs, and there is nothing for people to worry about.

“There’s only a small amount of mercury in the bulbs; it’s about the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen,” Merritt said. “The mercury is in the base of the bulb, not in the glass tubing. A person would have to crush the base to be exposed to it.”

Latisha Petteway, spokesperson for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, agreed that people do not have to be concerned about the mercury levels in the bulbs.

“No mercury is released when the bulbs are intact or in use,” Petteway said. “Exposure is only possible when a bulb is broken. Manufacturers have taken-and are currently taking-significant steps to further

reduce mercury used in their fluorescent lighting products.”

But that doesn’t mean the bulbs should automatically be thrown out with the trash. Petteway said the EPA strongly encourages recycling CFL bulbs.

“Recycling prevents the release of mercury into the environment when the bulbs break in landfills,” Petteway said. “It also allows the reuse of glass, metals and other materials that make up a fluorescent bulb.”

Chicago only has one permanent recycling facility for household products and computer recycling, the Goose Island facility, located at 1150 N. Branch St. The facility is only open three days a week with limited drop-off hours each day. Merritt said the city also hosts neighborhood recycling events.

“We had four events last year,” Merritt said. “We’ll probably have another four or five this year.”

Merritt said people should keep in mind the CFL bulbs generally last nine to 10 years and have just become popular over the last few years.

“These are not something people are collecting on a daily or weekly or even monthly basis,” Merritt said. “There’s not going to be a situation where people have a bucket of light bulbs they need to get rid of.”

But the city is working on expanding its recycling program and working on getting more Chicagoans to recycle. Merritt said the Blue Cart program-which is currently used in seven wards-is being expanded to several wards and communities.

The blue carts give residents a place to put their recyclables instead of placing all trash in the black carts. The city also has 30 drop-off locations, including Chicago Park District sites, where people can drop off their recyclables.

“We’re encouraging people to put things in the right place,” Merritt said. “We want to provide more opportunities for people to recycle.”

The city no longer pays the sorting center operators to run the machinery to sort recyclables from waste products that was part of the blue bag program. However, the operators are still required to recycle anything that comes into the center from the blue bags.

Tanya DeSantis, 26, who lives in Lakeview-which does not currently have the Blue Cart program-said recycling in Chicago “is a joke,” and no one takes it seriously. She said the city needs to make more of an effort to simplify recycling for residents.

“No one I know is willing to drive their stuff to one of the recycling places,” DeSantis said. “It’s much easier to just throw it away.”

For more information, residents can visit CityOfChicago.Org for a list of drop-off locations or call 3-1-1.