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Too often, I still hear people say they haven't switched to compact fluorescent bulbs yet -- with the excuse that CFL bulbs contain mercury and are therefore bad for the environment. To that, I respond that more mercury's put into the environment by coal-burning plants creating the extra energy needed for "regular bulbs."
Plus, CFL bulbs can be recycled properly, so that the mercury in them can be kept from polluting the atmosphere. Here's where you can take your eco-friendly bulbs at the end of their long lives:
Drop them off at Home Depot or IKEA. Both chain stores will let you put your spent CFL bulbs into a recycling box for proper disposal. Combine your recycling trip with a shopping trip at those stores -- and you'll incur no extra carbon emissions from the trip!
Take them your local hazardous or e-waste center. Research your city's hazardous and e-waste program to find out where you can drop of CFLs -- and other chemical-filled old electronics too. I do, however, suggest you try Home Depot and IKEA first. Those companies will take on the cost of recycling CFLs themselves, while city programs will have to use up your taxes to undertake this task.
Mail them in. Perhaps the most unpopular item in the BlogHer Conference shwag bag last year was the CFL Recycling Kit -- which make me think this option won't be popular with BlogHer members. Still, it's an option, so here are the details.
For $16.95, you can order this kit, which is basically a mail-in box that can hold up to 13 CFL bulbs. On the surface this mail-in deal sounds kind of convenient -- except if you consider the fact that a CFL bulb usually lasts 7+ years. Waiting for 13 of them to burn out while storing the box in an easy-to-find spot sounds like a decades-long endeavor.
Sure, you could mail in just one bulb -- but $16.95's a rather hefty price to pay. Plus, mailing in just one bulb would vastly increase the carbon footprint of this recycling method. Still, if you're an agoraphobic person who's somehow already amassed a dozen or so burnt-out CFL bulbs, the mail-in option could work for you.
If push comes to shove, do check earth911.com and recycleabulb.com's easy recycling facility locators before putting your old CFL in the trash. Though honestly, I've had CFLs since the late 90s -- and haven't had one give out yet! So I've yet to try out any of these methods. If you have, though, do weigh in in the comments.
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BlogHer Contributing Editor Siel also blogs at greenLAgirl.com.
