Full Steam ahead

I've got my second guy in the panel of experts. David Tucker of Waste Management in San Leandro has agreed to help me in my quest for knowlege.

I've been collecting data on all sorts of information regarding my topic from wherever I can find it. I figure, I can just organize it later or something.

So far I know why mercury is used in fluorescent bulbs, and the processes used to collect the mercury after the bulb has burnt out. I know what mercury poisoning does to you, and your kids. I've also found out about an alternative energy saving light bulb; LEDs. I still need to conduct my field surveys, and collect more data from other journals and reports about recycling and fluorescents.

Keywords: Mercury, Poisoning, Recycling, Fluorescent Lamp


*There used to be something on google that you could just type your stuff in the boxes and it would give a full MLA or APA citation. If anyone knows the link your help would be greatly appreciated.

Formulating Field Survey Questions (updated)

Professor Noble said that to keep people's attention, I should keep my questions to around 6. So, Here's my six. I will implement them this weekend

1. Do you use CFL's in your household?

Yes / No

2. Were you previously aware that they contained mercury?

Yes / No

3. When they go bad do you:

A) Throw Away B)Recycle

4. Have you ever broken a fluorescent bulb in the past year?

Yes / No

5. How often do you shop at The Home Depot?

1-2 visits/6 months
3-4 visits/6 months
5 or more/6months

Comments/Suggestions

New Developments 2/19/09

I've gone to the Home Depot and saw their system of fluorescent bulb recycling. It's basically a little orange box at the front of the store by the customer returns desk. It was obscured from general vision as there were shopping carts and stuff in the way. I talked to the manager about the issue, and he pointed me to Rosa Badu-Baidoo of the Return to Vendors department. She said that lately the they've been getting all types of bulbs, not only the CFL's and regular tubes. It's been filling up quite often, but given the size of the box, it should be needing emptying almost every day, rather than every week or so. The company that picks up the the fluorescent tubes is called PSC, and makes a pick up every month. I've asked Rosa to be on my panel of experts, as she manages the return to vendor department, which handles all of the hazardous waste drop-off. I'm very close to formulating a hypothesis.

First plan of action

I need to know the current process in getting rid of CFL's, and what happens if you just throw the bulbs away. With some digging around I found that PG&E has a website specifically for CFL's. On the top corner there's a link to find out how to recycle them. This sends you to another website for the California Integrated Waste Management Board. There is a link there http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Publiced/Earths911.htm which asks your zip code and what you have to recycle. I typed in 94579 (San Leandro), and the big name that popped up was Home Depot. I've never heard of them being a recycling place, so I will investigate today the process of disposal there. Hopefully I'm moving in the right direction. A lot of San Leandro residents go to Home Depot, but I doubt most of them know about disposing CFL's there.

Assumptions

I assume that:

1. all CFL's contain mercury
2. mercury is poisonous

That's all I have for now, but I'll be sure to think of some more assumptions that relate to my problem.

Delimitations

I have to narrow the scope of my research if I'm to get it done by the semester's end. This study will only focus on current residents of San Leandro, CA who have used, or currently use CFL's. This will hopefully provide a better solution to the disposal problem. I will also be limiting my solution include everything but a visual communication one, because my specialty is in the product design field.

The Problem

I've identified the problem and now have a direction for my research.

PROBLEM
Residents of San Leandro, CA lack a safe and convenient way to properly recycle burnt out compact fluorescent light bulbs, CFL's, on a regular basis.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this research was to investigate and develop a convenient yet safe way for residents of San Leandro, CA to properly recycle burnt out CFL's on a regular basis.

Research and Development

DAI 505 is the capstone course of my education at San Francisco State University. It uses all of the knowlege that I've gained thus far, since I've started going here as a freshman. For this class I have a formal research project which will eventually lead to a working prototype of my solution. I have one semester to get through this so I better get cracking.