Toony, I get tired of hearing about the mercury issue with CFL lamps.I think there are lots of good reasons why CFL is not the future. Mercury is not one of them
They do contain mercury, yes. Any fluorescent or neon lamp does. Mercury is what produces the main light in them, the fluorescent phosphors turn that mercury line in to other colors of visible light. That's the basic principle of the fluorescent lamp.
The amount of mercury for this is MINIMAL. One broken fluorescent lamp does not equal an environmental hazard. It does need to be carefully cleaned up, but not THAT carefully - the broken glass and phosphor coatings are also risks here. Handle with care.
Disposal of fluorescent lamps (and ideally, ANY lamp) should be by recycling it. The mercury (and all other components) can be reclaimed in this way. On the other hand, if you live in an area powered by coal-fired power, the mercury emissions from producing an extra 50W of electricity over the service life of a fluorescent lamp are GREATER than the mercury in a fluorescent lamp and that mercury is a direct environmental release that cannot be reclaimed.
*NOW WHY I DON'T BELIEVE SELF-BALLASTED DROP-IN CFLS ARE THE ANSWER*
1. They're cheap and you get what you pay for. They generally produce poor quality light. The color temperature isn't ideal, the spectral energy distribution curve is very uneven, and the color rendition is poor. It's a step above the old cool white lamps, but inferior to good lamp technology... including good fluorescent tech.
2. Most aren't dimmable. Even the ones with dimmable ballasts don't look natural when dimmed, because unlike black body sources they don't drop in color temperature (get "warmer") as they dim.
3. They aren't suitable for fully enclosed fixtures - they overheat and fail prematurely.
4. They aren't suitable for cold-area operation - they take far too long to warm up and produce light.
5. They're too big.
They have appropriate applications, and I use them where they're appropriate. I also use encapsulated halogen (including the more efficient IR-halogen when available) where appropriate, and conventional fluorescent lighting where appropriate. I am looking at adding cold cathode fluorescent lighting and LED lighting to my house too. All these technologies can be used in harmony as part of a balanced, aesthetically pleasing, energy efficient lighting plan.
"Ban the bulb" type deals and mass conversion to self-ballasted CFLs are a bad thing; but not because of mercury. Because they don't work well or look good in many applications.