Recycling Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
Tuesday, July 01, 2008 at 09:10amHome Depot recently announced that they will take your old compact fluorescent bulbs for recycling. This is great news — you can’t dispose of CFLs the way you can a traditional bulb, as CFLs contain trace amounts of mercury. Hoping this means more people will begin adopting CFLs in their home.
GeekBoy on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 at 9:56 am
I think this is excellent news, but think the Home Depot SVP overplays his hand a bit when he says, “We’re trying to do the right thing. Some of the things that we do are for the community and not for the bottom line.” Yeah, and it might not hurt that somebody who has just thrown away a light bulb probably needs to buy a new one … which Home Depot sells … oh, and look, they have shelving units on sale … and what was that other thing you said you needed the other day? … and you know, we may as well look at the grills while we’re here …
And while that sounds cynical, I actually begrudge them nothing. More power to them. If only more businesses would see the marketing potential of environmentalism.
freakgirl on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 at 10:09 am
Oh, it’s totally a marketing move, pure and simple. Wal-Mart did something similar when they started carrying CFLs. But if companies can make money on real “green” products, then I say go for it. Because, like you say, if there’s money to be made, then the market will get competitive and prices will drop.
GeekBoy on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 at 10:48 am
What I like about this too is the cradle-to-grave concept. It’s all fine and well for Wal-Mart to sell CFLs, but if they’re not helping you dispose of them, then they’re fixing one problem while creating another. This is why I also like the fact that most grocery stores now have big bins up front to collect used plastic shopping bags — any bags, not just theirs. It’s a small gesture, but it goes a long way with me. People are more likely to be responsible if we make it easier on them — and knowing that they can return something to the same place they bought/acquired it is definitely easier.
Jayme on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 at 11:48 am
So, as to the trace amounts of mercury… I only learned about that AFTER I cracked one of those in my hand while removing it about a month earlier. (I put it in the trash, becuase I am an ignorant fool–so I apologize to all of you and ask the water supply to forgive me too.) However, my main question is–what do I do in the future? I have a little one at home, and after learning about the trace amount of mercury, I felt awful about cracking that in the home and never doing any clean up. (Granted, it cracked in my hand, never actually broke.) So, does anyone know how much mercury is in it? I have actually heard that if you break one and it shatters on the floor, it can take hundreds on dollars to clean up. Anyone know more about this?
freakgirl on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 at 12:01 pm
$2000 cleanup = urban myth perpetrated by FOX News (shocking!)
http://www.treehugger.com/file.....dirt_o.php
However, you do need to be careful when cleaning them up. Guidelines here:
http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spi.....luorescent
Jayme on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Thank you, and maybe you just outed me as a Fox watcher. I swear I only do it because the “rabbit ears” (that’s right, the rabbit ears) can barely pick up anything.
freakgirl on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Rabbit ears! How retro!
Jayme on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 at 2:45 pm
You’re sweet. I’m retro like a Ford Pinto. Old, but not cool. I keep thinking we’ll get cable and then we never do. But in February 2009, something will have to change.
freakgirl on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 at 3:58 pm
You are the only person I know that is actually targeted by that commercial!
Soosan on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 at 9:15 am
Another page on clean-up someone passed along to me:
http://www.maine.gov/dep/rwm/h.....leanup.htm