Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) are great energy savers but have historically presented challenges with respect to recycling opportunities after they burn out. Recently, major retailers like Home Depot have started offering free bulb recycling to help alleviate the consumer burden.
Background
Although not all states require that CFLs be recycled, many states ban tossing them out with the household trash due to the small amount of mercury they contain (this also means that they cannot be recycled with your glass bottles). With incandescent bulbs being phased out in the U.S. beginning in 2012, the number of CFLs in use is only likely to grow. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working with manufacturers and retailers to expand recycling efforts, so it will continue to get easier to find convenient locations to recycle CFLs.
Retailers with Recycling Programs
National retailers leading the charge in CFL recycling include IKEA, Home Depot, and ACE Hardware, with other smaller retailers supporting the effort on a local level. Some program highlights include:
- IKEA - With 35 stores and more coming soon, IKEA started promoting their spent bulb “Free Take Back” recycling program in 2001. Simply bring your burnt out bulbs to any Ikea store and deposit them in the recycling bin. According to IKEA customer service, they will take back any CFL, not just the ones you buy at their store.
- Home Depot – Last summer, Home Depot started their own free recycling program. As the second largest retailer in the U.S. with almost 2,000 stores, CFL recycling is now much more accessible than in the past; and it’s easy – bring any unbroken, burnt out fluorescent bulb to your local Home Depot, put it in one of the plastic bags they provide, and place it in the orange and white receptacle. Done.
- ACE Hardware – ACE Hardware partners with various state agencies and utilities in numerous states, including participating stores in Illinois, Vermont, New Hampshire, Montana, Utah, South Dakota, and elsewhere to collect CFLs from consumers for recycling; and
- Other Retailer Programs - Madison, Wisconsin requires all retailers that sell CFLs to take them back for recycling (this includes fluorescent lamps and bulbs), Wal-Mart hosts periodic CFL recycling events around the country that allow people to drop off their used bulbs, and Menards, a home improvement store with locations in the north central U.S., collects spent CFLs from customers at their Minnesota stores.
Programs at these and other retailers vary widely; some are free and others are low fee, some accept only bulbs that they sold while others accept any unbroken bulb, some limit the number of bulbs that can be brought in at one time, and still others don’t accept them at stores on a regular basis but sponsor periodic recycling events; check with your local retailer directly for restrictions before you bring in your CFLs.
Retailers certainly aren’t the only options for recycling, but national programs like those conducted by IKEA and Home Depot go a long way to provide convenient recycling options. Look for more retailers stepping up as regulators and trade groups work to provide consumers with convenient and low cost (or no cost) recycling alternatives.
Deborah Wojcicki - Debbie lives in New England and is an avid herb gardener, foodie and dog lover. In addition to Suite 101, Debbie has been published in The ...
