Excerpt from StopGlobalWarming newsletter:
ACTION TIP: CFL RECYCLING
As you no doubt know, if every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.But we need to recycle CFLs properly, as they contain a small amount of mercury. IKEA, the world’s largest home furnishings retailer, understands the value of CFL lights, as well as the need for recycling them.
The company offers a simple solution: a ‘Free Take Back’ program offering recycle bins for CFLs in all IKEA stores. Just take your used CFLs to IKEA for proper disposal.
If you’d like more info on lamp disposal for your state, please go to lamprecycle.org to obtain more information.
For more information regarding mercury in CFLs, including proper disposal options and what to do if a bulb breaks, click here for the PDF report from Energystar.gov.
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Can I recycle regular light bulbs found in home lamps (e.g. 40 watt, etc., light bulbs)?
Thanks for the tip.
I wanted to be green and replaced all my incandescent light for fluorescent, but I am having doubts about being green because they tend to last way less than regular bulbs and cost much more. I have to replace about 6 compact fluorescent n about 2 years.
I think there is a false advertisement about the longevity of fluorescents. I am considering going back to the old reliable technology. Hopefully the extra energy will be compensated by savings in materials and mercury.