Compact flourescent bulbs (CFLs) can save a vast amount of electricity, but they contain mercury, which we really, really don’t want leaching out of our landfills. (Previously on TOG.) In order to properly dispose of broken bulbs, people used to have to go to their city’s hazardous waste drop-off (which nobody was going to do for a couple lightbulbs) or to IKEA (the only store that took them back.)
However, the NYT reports that Home Depot will start accepting CFLs for recycling. Since there’s way more Home Despots than IKEAs, this will hopefully encourage proper disposal. Switching to CFLs is totally worth the small recycling inconvenience – Eric and I save 30% on our electricity. Happy illuminating!
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