Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Never Should Have Bought The Damn Things In The First Place

And I don't think I ever will again. I don't give a rats ass how energy efficient they are.

I'm talking about Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs. You know they contain mercury, right? Yeah, mercury, one of the most poisonous elements on the earth. "Oh, but it's only a very minute amount" (about the amount that would cover the tip of a ballpoint pen according to the EPA) SHUTUP! It's still poisonous!

Yes, it's sealed in the glass so it's not dangerous to use them but because they even contain mercury AT ALL you can't just throw them away like a regular bulb. you have to dispose of them properly.

I have 4 or 5 CFLs that burned out that I have been saving to dispose of properly. I decided this morning to find out how to properly dispose of them. The answer is to take them to a solid waste recycling facility. The EPA gives you two web sites to check out - www.epa.gov/bulbrecycling or www.earth911.org. The EPA site tells me that the City of Oklahoma City and Tulsa recycle the bulbs... but you have to live there. Earth 911 lists places in Oregon, Arizona, etc.

So the question remains. How the hell do I, who live in North central Oklahoma, dispose of these bulbs?

My solution: LED bulbs. They look expensive but they actually save significantly more energy than a CFL and they last much much longer. Wal-Mart has them now. I'm never buying another CFL.

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