Churches are also encouraged to provide recycling stations for CFLs. Participating churches receive a box, instructions for safe handling, and information on where to take the bulbs. (http://earth911.org/recycling offers a recycling search tool to find the nearest CFL recycling location.) Barnett notes that regardless of whether or not the bulbs are recycled, less mercury goes into the environment when one uses CFLs. “Powering an incandescent bulb with coal-based energy for five years puts 10mg of mercury into the environment,” he said. “The coal required to power a CFL for five years only emits 2.4mg of mercury, and the bulb itself contains 4mg.” Recycling can recover 95 percent of the mercury in the bulbs. 

This campaign is a means of raising broader awareness of stewardship in the diocese, according to Bishop Hollingsworth. “Churches have a responsibility to set the bar and model what we understand to be faithful living,” he said. “How we respond to the environment has everything to do with our fidelity to God, and it has everything to do with how we give ourselves to God.”