Fluorescent Light Bulbs to Be Banned in Canada

The federal government has announced a plan to ban the import and manufacture of fluorescent light bulbs beginning Dec. 31, 2025. (Shutterstock/Star Supawan)

Ottawa is banning the sale of fluorescent light bulbs, citing safety and environmental concerns.

The federal government announced its plan this week to ban the import and manufacture of fluorescent light bulbs beginning Dec. 31, 2025, due to their use of mercury, a highly toxic heavy metal that negatively impacts the environment when disposed of improperly.

“It is crucial that we continue to protect the health of Canadians and their environment, while encouraging businesses to transition to safer alternatives,” Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said in a June 19 statement in which he described mercury as “a known toxic substance.”

The regulations will apply to screw-base compact fluorescent light bulbs, pin-base compact fluorescent light bulbs, straight fluorescent light bulbs, and non-linear fluorescent light bulbs for new installation, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

Although fluorescent bulbs are safe to use, mercury is released into the air when a bulb breaks, contaminating both the room where it broke and the environment at large, the government said in its announcement.

Health Minister Mark Holland described the upcoming ban as part of his government’s “commitment to minimizing mercury exposure” due to its “significant negative impact … on human health, natural resources, and the environment.”

The regulations aim “to reduce the use and release of mercury into our surroundings,” Mr. Holland said in the statement.

Fluorescent Bulb Push

Fluorescent light bulbs were not always viewed as toxic.

The federal government once touted compact fluorescent light bulbs as an energy-saving alternative to mercury-free Edison bulbs and, in 2014, prohibited the importation and manufacture of 75-watt and 100-watt incandescent bulbs in favour of compact fluorescent or LED lights.

A 2003 campaign known as Project Porchlight, which was endorsed by Environment Canada, handed out more than 200,000 compact fluorescent bulbs in Ottawa, describing them as good for the environment.

Health Canada, in an information sheet about compact fluorescent light bulbs, said “only a very small amount” of mercury is used in each bulb, saying it would be just enough “to cover the tip of a ballpoint pen.”

“There is no risk to your health when the lamps are unbroken,” the agency said. “Even when a [compact fluorescent lamp] CFL is broken, there is a very low risk to your health, unless you mishandle it or store it carelessly.”

If a bulb is broken, Health Canada advises all people and pets to leave the room and open all windows and doors for at least 15 minutes to ventilate the space prior to starting clean-up.

The agency also advises wearing disposable gloves to clean up the broken bulb because “it will spread the mercury vapour and dust throughout the area and may contaminate the vacuum.”

Health Canada suggests sweeping up the broken pieces and debris with two pieces of stiff paper or cardboard and using sticky tape to pick up any remaining fine glass or powder before wiping the area with a disposable wet wipe or cloth.

The broken glass and clean-up materials should be placed in a glass container with a tight-fitting lid “to further minimize the release of mercury vapour,” the agency said.

Bulb Recycling

Parliament in 2017 passed Bill C-238 to address the disposal of light bulbs containing mercury, acknowledging it as an important environmental issue.

“In 2011, Statistics Canada found that 50 percent of people were unaware of the problems caused by mercury,” Liberal MP Darrell Samson said during a House of Commons debate on the issue before the bill was passed.

“Therefore, if people do not know the danger or they do not know where they can have these things recycled and if that is not accessible, they probably will not do what is best for our environment and our country.”

There are a variety of ways to dispose of light bulbs containing mercury, but choices vary depending on where a person lives. Some provinces have a light-recycling extended producer responsibility program, and can visit Product Care Recycling to find a disposal depot near their home, Environment Canada says. Residents who do not live near a depot can contact their municipality for disposal advice.