Remember the good old light bulb with filament that we used in our homes since past many years, these are called incandescent light bulb. They used to fuse more often, but as they are cheap nobody really cared much. Now-a-days CFL bulbs are available which are expensive but are longer lasting. The ultimate latest invention is the LED bulb which is the luxury of the rich as it is more costly than CFL but this lasts much longer than CFL.

On a scale of A to E of energy efficiency, where A represents the most energy efficient light, the incandescent light bulb is class E. It is energy glutton. Halogen lamps and CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamps) are Class C & B. The best energy efficient light bulb so far invented is LED (Light Emitting Diode) with Class A thus the maximum energy efficient.

As the environmental issues are highlighted all over & awareness is spread, the incandescent light bulb has been banned in most of the countries in the world such as Brazil, Venezuela, EU, Switzerland, Australia, Argentina, Russia, US, Canada, Mexico, Malaysia & South Korea.

In UAE also from July 2014 onwards they are banned & by the year end 2014 they shall be removed from the shelves from the shops in markets. The new standards from July 1 will not allow any shipment of low quality lighting products into the UAE. This standard will ensure that the market carries only high-quality indoor lighting products that meet requirements. These include electrical safety, energy efficiency, functionality and a limit to the content of hazardous chemicals,? said Mohammed Badri, acting director general of Esma, the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology.

Among the efficient technologies that will be allowed are halogen bulbs, LEDs (light-emitting diodes) and compact fluorescent lights (CFLs).

CFLs contain small amounts of toxic mercury. On a daily use CFL is perfectly safe but a potential danger looks large when they expired. They should be disposed of correctly. They should be recycled and never thrown in the bin. If you put them in landfills, the milligrams of mercury become grams of mercury and then kilograms of mercury.

Mercury pollution could enter the water table, and in other countries even into supplies of drinking water.

And with millions and millions of fluorescent lights in use, the problem is a time bomb in western countries where CFLs have been encouraged for longer than in the UAE.

In Sweden 60-70% of CFL lamps are recycled & this is the highest percentage of recycling of CFL in the world. REst of the countries are recycling a tiny quantity of CFL only.

UAE has taken stock of this issue and therefore in Abu Dhabi the capital of UAE, the Centre of Waste Management is developing storage units and recycling centres for electronics and electrical equipment as part of Abu Dhabi?s waste master plan. They are examining this as part of the master plan and will be designing and building the storage units and recycling facilities based on the outcomes of the data management phase of the project.

Ultimately, the problem will be solved through the change of technology as more people switch to LED lights, which are still a more expensive solution but prices are falling rapidly LEDs are also less likely to cause ecological issues if they end up in landfill.

On the occasion of the Earth Hour I wish to spread this message through the ever expanding platform of Tunza Eco-Gen that while we switch off the non-essential lights on this occasion let?s switch to energy efficient systems of lighting. LED lights are the future of energy saving. Therefore please use LED in your houses as much as possible. The contribution of each & everyone is required. Drops make an ocean, please remember.

Thanks for reading.