# CFL lightbulbs



## Atticus

Sorry if this is a dumb question or on the wrong subforum.

I have a bunch of those energy-saving CFL lightbulbs. I don't know how to dispose of them properly and safely. I know they contain mercury and god knows what else. Any advice? Ironic that they call them eco-friendly


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## rusty baker

Another one of those poorly thought-out government edicts.


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## Thunder Chicken

Atticus said:


> Sorry if this is a dumb question or on the wrong subforum.
> 
> I have a bunch of those energy-saving CFL lightbulbs. I don't know how to dispose of them properly and safely. I know they contain mercury and god knows what else. Any advice? Ironic that they call them eco-friendly


The big box stores (HD, anyway) will take them to be recycled, no charge. Just bring them to the customer service desk.


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## gregzoll

I just toss them in the trash, and bury with other stuff.


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## Jay 78

rusty baker said:


> Another one of those poorly thought-out government edicts.


The combination of the thread topic and your comment immediately made me think of Yucca Mountain....


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## Daniel Holzman

My town dump has a special place for CFL bulbs. Where they send them after collecting them, I don't really know. You correctly note that they contain hazardous materials, and should not be thrown out with ordinary trash, although curiously there are lots of things that should not be thrown out with ordinary trash that routinely are.


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## Red Squirrel

gregzoll said:


> I just toss them in the trash, and bury with other stuff.


Sadly that's pretty much the answer. In fact the company I worked for had a huge batch of neon tubes to dispose of, so a maintenance guy went to the dump and asked where they should be put and they were told to just put it with the regular household trash. They were kinda dumbfounded. 

I guess if you consider how much longer they last vs how much incad bulbs go in the trash for every mercury bulb, it may come up to about the same. Then consider the energy usage and that's where it counts more, but if your electricity comes from hydroelectric then it's kinda a moot point. Coal plants (which produce mercury) is another story, but those are on the way out, if there's even any left.


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## packer_rich

In my area, every place that sells cfl bulbs also accepts them for recycling. This includes big box stores, hardware stores and groceries.


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## PoleCat

I bury them in the sandbox at the local playground.


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## rusty baker

Where you can dispose of things, depends on who you are. My trash company will not take my empty glue buckets. But if I toss them in at the local carpet store, the same trash truck picks them up without question.


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