|
APRIL 23, 2008 |
Contact: Rae Todd 970-229-5255 |
toddr@prpa.org (Platte River Power) |
Contact:
Erick Rheam, (970) 962-3705 |
rheame@ci.loveland.co.us
(Loveland Water and Power) |
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Lighting With A Twist is Back, Adds A Twist to CFL Recycling Successful program goes year-round and offers free, safe CFL recycling LOVELAND, COLO - Platte River Power Authority and Loveland Water and Power have brought back last year's successful Lighting With A Twist with a couple of new twists. Customers of Water and Power can now save money year-round. The second twist this year is that Platte River has teamed up with Orchards Ace Hardware and Mercury Technologies to provide a free, safe location to recycle old or broken compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). Last year, from September 15 through December 15, Platte River and Loveland Water and Power teamed up to provide customers of Orchards Ace Hardware, Collins Cashway Lumber, The Home Depot, Lighting Designs, Sam’s Club and Lowe’s money off at the cash register when purchasing energy-saving CFLs. The almost 59,000 bulbs that were purchased over the three months will save approximately 1,164,000 kWh (kilowatt-hours) annually--enough electricity to power about 145 Loveland homes for a year and save close to 815 tons of carbon dioxide annually. "We have gone to a year-round offer based on the success of last year's efforts," said Adam Perry, energy services specialist at Platte River. "Our in-store educational events were popular and we will be having more of them during the year." Results of a survey conducted by Platte River shows that the percentage of area residents who have heard of CFLs increased from 78 percent to 90 percent as a result last fall's Lighting With a Twist campaign, and the average number of CFLs installed in a home increased from seven to 10. According to survey respondents, the top three reasons for purchasing CFLs were to save/conserve energy, to reduce electricity bills and to take advantage of their longer life. "Lighting With A Twist is a great program for Loveland Water and Power customers. With the new twist this year on CFL recycling, we have taken a great program and made it extraordinary," said Erick Rheam, customer relations manager at Loveland Water and Power. A partnership between Platte River, Orchards Ace Hardware, Mercury Technologies and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment now provides Loveland residents a safe location to recycle used and broken CFLs without charge. Compact fluorescent light bulbs use up to 75 percent less energy and last up to 10 times longer than typical incandescent light bulbs. However, CFLs contain a small amount of mercury -- about as much as the period at the end of this sentence -- that must be recycled appropriately. According to Mercury Technologies, the recycling
company contracted to handle the spent bulbs, their
no landfill policy means they recycle each piece
of the CFL, including the glass, mercury, metal,
circuit board, plastic, and lead. More information can be found at www.lightingwithatwist.com About Platte River Power Authority Sidebar: How to clean up a broken CFL Sidebar 2: Participating CFL Retailers and Residential Recycling
Drop-off Locations -30- |