Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Thanks A Lot, Al. Now What?

Inspired by my friend, Al Gore, and his movie about global warming, I bought CFL light bulbs. They're great! They save energy! They last a long, long time!



The down side is that the CFL's contain mercury. Heaven forbid you should break one in your kitchen. Call the Haz Mat team!

Last week I had my first burn out. I learned there is no "green" way to dispose of them. At least not around here, according to my internet search. I emailed the regional recycling center to find out what I should do.

A homeowner can throw away a few in the garbage. That is all we have in place at the present time.


A few? What if all 5 of my kitchen bulbs burned out? Could I throw all 5 of them away at once, or would I have to wait between tossings? And how do I know how many have been tossed by other people? And wait, I don't own my home! Can renters throw them away?

I have a CFL bulb in it's original hard plastic package sitting on the floor of my car in case CFL recycling boxes start popping up. Or maybe I'll throw it in a dumpster in a town farther away. I'm open for suggestions, people!

3 comments:

Hannita said...

Eesh. It's like nuclear power. Sure, it seems to be a good way to produce power, yet we have no good way to dispose of the waste in this country.

pj said...

That wasn't a suggestion! I need help! Can I sent it to you?

Hannita said...

No! I just threw out a battery. That's my pollution quota for the month.