Eco-Friendly Friday Tips 101 - Recycling CFLs

Burned out CFLs can be dropped off at Home Depot and Ikea stores. Another solution is to save spent CFLs for a community household hazardous waste collection, which would then send the bulbs to facilities capable of treating, recovering or recycling them.

CFL's were a great bridge to even more efficient lighting options like LEDs. As your CFL's start burning out, consider paying a little more for the next generation of screw-in LED blubs that are starting to come out. Home Depot is now carrying the GE line, and current LED technology gives about 80k-100k hours of life. In a business that runs lights 24/7... that's a 10-year useful life. In a home where you turn the lights on for 8-hours, that's about 34-year until you'd have to replace the bulb!

Whether or not local trash service is provided by a private contractor, your local municipality (city, county or parish) is ultimately responsible for waste disposal.Most phone directories have a "blue pages" directory of local government agencies. Try the listing for sanitation services. While curbside recycling is by no means universal, your area may have designated drop-off locations or periodic CFL collections. Should your local agency not have any CFL-specific provisions, ask about safe disposal of mercury or fluorescent tubes.

A concerned citizen is always responsible for his own waste disposal. These bulbs are very dangerous to our health and if not disposed properly can cause accidents. Good thing Home Depot and other establishments accepts these bulbs for recycling purposes. Thanks for sharing, I'll check out Earth911 later to know some establishments nearest here at my place that accepts bulbs for recycle.

It was interesting to know for me that it is possible to recycle CFL - now I know what to do with mine which I don't need any more.

I had check with my local Home Depot about recycling my CFLs and the yound kid working looked at me like I had 4 heads! It turns out that my county has a recycling effort and a safe way to dispose of the bulbs once a week. Unfortunately the amount of fuel I burned exploring this may have been worse for the environment. BUT! I know for next time!

This year we had a huge camp project surrounding what we can do to be environmentally friendly. We figured this is a good way to show the children that if they enjoy the nature of summer camp, that they need to do their part. However I never really thought of the contents of the light bulbs and how dangerous they can be to the environment.

Thank you for sharing this information, many times you hear "recycling is important" but you are never pointed in the direction of where to recycle. It would be neat for people to create a recycling committee or club, that would be in charge of placing a CFL recycling bin in their local library or post office where people can drop off their CFL bulbs. Someone in the committee can then drop off the bin at Home Depot. I know "Disney" is giving away Green Grants, which can be used to fund such a project.

I am just also finding out that CFL can be recycled. I wish the public knew much more about thhis dangers. Its very sad that in third world countries like where i come from, nothing is yet being said about recycling or sustainable development. I work in a clinic, and behind the clinic is a huge household-wast dump. You come out of the clinic and see pigs!!!!

Its really sad though. I hope more and more people get some awareness of CFLs and start either recycling or disposing it properly

I was aware Home Depot was "supposed" to take CFL bulbs and recycle them. However, I went to our local HD just a few weeks ago to do just that and they customer service employee said they did not recycle CFL's anymore. I wanted to talk to the manager but he was not in. However, I did fine a local private eco recycling company that did take CFL's and other recyclable products that the normal weekly recycling company won't pick up.

I can say that recycling is very profitable - you can get rid of the things you don't need any more and at the same time b ring profit to the nature!

Thanks for sharing this, I’ll have a look at the clubs that you linked.

Thanks for imparting such important information at all. Nice post!

Recycling is the way, and if one has the wish and the will to it, basically almost 90% of one's garbage can be recycled. So thumbs up for the good post. And people, please, recycle.

By recycling CFLs we protect our environment. So let's do this let's recycling cfls. Thank you for posting. I think this is a very important information for all.

I am so glad you are getting this information out there, seriously. People were sold on CFLs being "green" lightbulbs, and yes, they use less energy, but so many people are unaware of their toxicity if broken.
While on the subject, I'd like to put in a good word for LEDs (no affiliation); although the lamps cost more, they use even less electric than CFLs, generate even less heat, last longer, are almost unbreakable and don't have the toxic hazard. I really think they are the future and in a few years CFL will be gone.

There are many hazardous things that the people only put in there trash. Now that they read this information, i wish this post can make them think what happen to the people who will harm from there trash that have a harmful chemicals.

Great ideas here!
Thank you for sharing!

I'm wondering if I can quote some tips in here in my eco website .. will place a link back of course.
Thanks

Thanks for the info. It is really a must that we start recycling. At home, we are practicing this for years I guess and it's great.

It is really amazing that a lot of people now are aware about the problems that our trashes are causing in our environment. Recycling is really important. We should consider some things before deciding to throw our trashes or recycle it.

Thanks for the informational article. This is the good idea. I will keep this on website.

Thanks for the CFL help!

Its great that you're pointing out this CFL issue as it will hopefully help people in large numbers and so improve our environment!

Thanks for info.. Veru useful info here, thanks

Recycling CFLs have to be a reality, sustainability is the only way to achieve a better future.

Well, the same goes for TV, fridges, monitors etc. People just don't seem to realize the damage they are doing to the environment.

Yeah. recycling CFL Bulbs can help a lot in stopping Global Warming and Thus saving our earth and becoming eco-friendly.

Nice post! I will bookmark this, looking forward for more environment friendly posts!

future recycling!

It is amazing for me to see communities that still do not participate in recycling programs. I figured people would get the message by now.

thanks for the tip...I always do to immeditely trash my CFL bulbs..I haven't think of bringing them to home depot...Now I guess I have to look for a nearest depot so I can have those broken bulbs recycled...

Although it'll take time to find a place where CFLs will be taken in my rigeon, but it is worth doing. Thank you a lot!

Burned out CFLs can be dropped off at Home Depot and Ikea stores. Another solution is to save spent CFLs for a community household hazardous waste collection, which would then send the bulbs to facilities capable of treating, recovering or recycling them

how much can be dangerous ?

What I do is gather all my used batteries and instead of throwing them away, I gather a whole bag of them and recycle in "bulk".

Is it true? its good to know that we can recycle CFLs which are root cause of Global Warming.We should join hands for the survival of our environment.

Thanks for the info on how to recycle CFLs. I didn't know what to do with them beforehand!

Mercury - this is really dangerous! We recycle burned out CFLs at IKEA.

Great Site guys! I really appreciate all the Eco tips that you give out! I have started up my own Global warming /Climate Change site and I originally intended to focus it on educating people but after reading some of your ECO tips I think I will post similar Global Warming Prevention tips on my site as well.

Every little bit helps I think. We change the future one person at a time!

These post is greatly appreciated. Very useful and informative blog and every body must visit this.Thanks a lot. Now I know it is possible to recycle CFL.

Oh wow, thanks for the informative article and awesome replies. I didn't know you can recycle them. Where I am from, people just throw everything together in the trash. T T Thanks for the info. Will try to pass this message along to my friends.

Our local utility office sends out an annual publication for free to all customers, as well as a monthly newsletter-style update, and they were the ones we got the information from as to where to take our CFLs. So, check with your local utility company - they just might be able to tell you where you need to go in your area.

In our community we have to wrap our CFL's up in plastic bags and drop them off at the local transfer station - which is sort of a recycling bin on steroids. Huge dumpsters to recycle just about everything you can think of, from cardboard to broken old radio antennas. Fortunately the transfer station is only about 2 miles away, and the CFLs do last far longer than their incandescent predecessors, so frequent trips aren't necessary.

Nice! It will surely help my website. I will read and post comments to those blog now. Thanks!

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Thanks for imparting such important information at all. Nice post!

I'm thrilled that there is increased understanding about disposing of the bulbs. It makes me wonder, we've gone to CFL's but is the savings significant enough to now transition to LED's?