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Recycling of Compact Fluorescent Bulbs Neither Common Nor Easy Enough

by Terrence O'Brien on May 28, 2008 at 11:15 AM

Recycling of Compact Fluorescent Bulbs Not Common or Easy EnoughMany of us have starting loading our homes with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) looking to go green, and save some green in the process. But there's a problem -- it turns out that compact fluorescent bulbs contain a small amount of mercury, which means that the bulbs must be recycled properly and can't just be thrown out with the rest of the trash. Most cities, however, do not have recycling programs in place for them, or require that residents drive out to landfills to turn in the bulbs themselves. So the bulbs land in the garbage, completely undoing all of the intended good for the environment.

In some places, retailers are stepping in to fill the void in the recycling program, though the job may become too costly for all but the largest of chain store to offer the service as the need to recycle the bulbs increases.

A group at Brown University has suggested making special packaging which CFLs would be sold in, then packed back into and mailed in for recycling. The packaging would be cushioned against breakage and contain special mercury absorbent materials in case it did shatter.

There is no clear solution at the moment, but something must be done soon before CFLs become an environmental hazard. [source: AOL News]

Tags: cfl, recycle

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