Photo used under Creative Commons from Comedy Nose
Halloween, concerts, college parties, goodie bags- glow sticks, glow sticks everywhere. Glow sticks are pretty cool -no two ways about it. Every time my kids score a glow necklace or bracelet there is an abnormal amount of excitement: “Mom, can we bend them? Mom, is it dark enough yet?” Halloween is our favorite time of year to break out glow sticks of every color to “light up” our parade from home to home in search of candy. Recently a used, green (think the color green for the moment) glow stick made its way to the top of one of our bookcases. There it lay until morning when we discovered that it had leaked everywhere and managed to work its way through the finish on the bookcase.
Glow stick damage to the bookcase
After seeing the amount of damage done by one little, supposedly non-toxic, glow stick, I began to question the “greeness” of those gleaming sticks.
According to Wisegeek, the chemicals used to create the glowing reaction in glow sticks are usually hydrogen peroxide and a mixture of phenyl oxalate ester and florescent dye that gives the glow stick its color. The hydrogen peroxide floats around in a glass tube inside the plastic glow stick and once the tube is bent the tube breaks and the glowing begins.
Here’s some food for thought on glow sticks:
It is not my intention to be the Halloween Grinch-just want to be sure we have all the facts so we can make educated decisions.
- Glow sticks are a single-use product which we throw into the garbage after use. The discarded glow sticks are then sent to our overflowing landfills where they lay for many, many years.
- They are made from plastic, which is derived from petro-chemicals and is energy-intensive to make.
- If the chemicals used to make the stick glow are released from the container they are damaging to the environment and can be flammable.
- If spilled on skin, the chemicals can cause reactions from skin irritations to vomiting and nausea.
- When released from the container the chemicals will eat away at various surfaces-as shown by our poor, wooden bookcase.
Alternatives to glow sticks
- Flashlights
- Cell phones
- Candles
I know these are not half the fun of glow sticks…..but perhaps it’s time we all thought about the impact our fun is having on the planet.
This year I am going to think twice before handing out those glow sticks to our neighbors.
What will you do?
There are eco-friendly glow sticks out there; one I have found is made by a company called LifeGear.
They contain no toxic chemicals and have a free battery replacement program.
The one-use glow sticks (the ones you “break” to start) are the ones you have to be wary of, but there are other options out there.
Hi Jane. Thanks very much for pointing out that there are other options out there that are safe alternatives. The LifeGear “glow sticks” are LED glow stick runs up to 200 hrs. on batteries. These are a far better alternative to the single-use glow sticks with liquid inside.
I am a bit of a halloween grinch since here in Australia it is being ”marketed” to us and taken up at ever increasing rates. But you make very relevant points about glo-sticks. Sometimes we do have to think of the environment first and look at alternatives. My kids love them too and the long lasting glo sticks that were mentioned above look like a much better alternative although even they seem to be made of plastic.
Hi and thanks for your comment. The effect that marketing has on a society is pretty amazing. It is interesting to hear that Australia is getting caught up in the Halloween spirit too. It is out of control in the US-but a holiday built around fun and community. Yes, the multiple use glow sticks are much better than the single-use but certainly not perfect. What a nice site you have!
We, too, had a piece of painted wooden furniture destroyed by a glow stick! I agree with all you’ve said here but it makes me sigh, as glow sticks are one of the more popular items we’ve given out instead of candy. 🙁
Oh no, sorry to hear about your book case! Thanks for an eye-opening post. As to alternatives, I’m worried about candles. How would you use candles safely around children?
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