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Unless you've been living in a cave for the past few years, you've heard the refrain: change your old light bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). They last longer, saving you $30 (or more!) in energy costs over the life of the bulb, and, now that they're available in an increasingly wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, there's a bulb for just about any lighting need.
But, like all good things, the life of CFLs will eventually come to an end, and that's when things can get a little tricky. Because they contain a small amount of mercury -- not enough to harm you, in all likelihood, and less mercury than is emitted from the coal-burning power plants making electricity to light your incandescent bulbs -- CFLs shouldn't go directly in the trash. Recycling is the best option, and that option just got easier: you can now recycle your CFLs at any Home Depot location in the U.S. The program, which started in Canada last year, is now available in the 1900-plus stores here in the States. Just bring your burned out, unbroken bulbs to the home improvement giant, and they'll be properly recycled from there.
Difficulty level: Easy
More compact fluorescent light bulb-related reading in Planet Green and TreeHugger
Recycle Your Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs with Ease
Recycle Those CFL Bulbs at IKEA
Save $30 a Bulb with CFLs
Choose the Right (Compact Fluorescent) Light
Green Basics: Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
Ask TreeHugger: Is Mercury from a Broken CFL Dangerous?
What About Mercury from Compact Fluorescents?
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