Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Toxic bulb disposal, Bellevue style

Councilman brings CFL bucket program to City Hall

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By TONY EVANS
Express Staff Writer

Bellevue City Council Chairman Chris Koch reinvented a toxic-light-bulb-disposal program from scratch at City Hall last week. Photo by Willy Cook

Bellevue officials know how to cut costs at City Hall.

When the city had to cut staff hours to make ends meet during the recession, City Council members rolled up their sleeves and painted buildings, picked up trash and volunteered time to make the city run smoothly.

And when residents called City Hall last week to push officials to adopt an EPA-approved CFL bulb disposal program, City Council Chair Chris Koch decided to create his own from scratch, using a five-gallon paint bucket with a plastic bag liner.

"We're not spending any citizens' money on this program," said Koch, who paid $3 for the bucket.

It will hold about 100 spent mercury-laden, energy-efficient CFL bulbs when it is filled. The bucket is kept at Bellevue City Hall.

A similar CFL bucket program is offered by the Environmental Resource Center in Ketchum, and at City Hall in Hailey. Its buckets cost $100. When filled, they are wrapped in cardboard and sent away for safe disposal at an EPA-approved disposal site.

Koch will personally take Bellevue's bulb bucket to Home Depot in Twin Falls for safe disposal when it fills up, he said.

"Our bucket is just as good as the bucket at the Environmental Resource Center," Koch said.

Tony Evans: tevans@mtexpress.com

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