Monday, May 19, 2008

Disposing Of Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs In Wisconsin Is Easy

Media continue to urge the proper disposal of compact fluorescent bulbs, pointing out that sales are booming, yet some people are unaware that the bulbs' mercury content means they cannot be tossed in the trash or land-filled.

What to do so they are properly recycled?

The City of Madison says that retailers selling them must take them back for proper disposal, and may charge a fee for the service, but what about the rest of the state?

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources provides an easy web search tool so consumers can find local retailers that have agreed to serve as approved drop-off sites.

Here's the link.

And the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District has put up a web link showing Milwaukee city and county residents where they can drop off fluorescent bulbs.

Here is that information, too.

With government and private sector outlets making correct disposal easier, there are fewer reasons than ever for consumers to delay switching away from the less-efficient and more-costly (over their lifetime) incandescent bulbs to newer, energy-saving fluorescents.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is too bad that they do not last as long as advertised. Regular bulbs last a whole to longer, at least in my exp.

Dave1 said...

It would be nice if you could get floods and spots (at least I haven't seen them yet.

They also need to find a way to work with dimmers.

Hopefully somebody is working on these issues!

Johnny 5 said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

I believe the fluorescents pose a danger when broken and I break things. They contain mercury and require that you vacate the premises for 15 minutes, not use a vacuum cleaner or a broom and many other safeguards. I doubt people know this and I am concerned about more mercury in the environment. I need more convincing on why I should switch over.

James Rowen said...

I believe that cleanup is not necessarily that complex. Care is needed, obviously.

The energy savings are substantial if there were wholesale switching over. Much less coal mined, shipped, burned, breathed, etc.