CFL Light BULBS DISPOSAL What Do YOU Do with Them?

yeah... this is why I don't buy them. That, and the fact that they cost about 4 times as much and CLAIM to last longer, when in reality they break/wear out a lot faster than my regular incandescent bulbs. :(
Another example of government at work.

ETA: @OneandDone: I have enough paper and receipts floating around my house without having to keep up with receipts for lightbulbs. I have started stocking up on incandescents over the summer, like JoW.

I bought them for my bathroom. I hate them!! Not only are the expensive, they take forever to hit full brightness so I have to flip on the bathroom lights a minute before I need to use it, and then burn out a lot faster than the incandescent ones. There are six bulbs in my bathroom all of them have burnt out twice this year. I didn't put them in until May.

This is def bad technology. Now I am going to have to stock up on incandescent ones since they become illegal at the end of the year. :(

This reminds me of a speech Rep. Ted Poe Republican Texas gave to the US House on the energy savings bill and the mandatory use of CFL light bulbs. He went through the whole ridicoulousness of it all. If you want to see it for yourself, here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv59PJ30WeM

I'm all for trying to save energy but it seems they are just trading one problem for another. Not really solving the issue. Just my thoughts.

They are wrong! Look on www.earth911.com and search by zip code.
I did and there were 7 locations within 10 miles of my home!
We need to modify our thinking about convenience and recycling.

@Victoria--Energy Star qualified CFL bulbs have a 2 yr warranty, so the retailer will replace!

• Like paint, batteries, thermostats, and other hazardous household items, CFLs should be disposed of properly. Do not throw CFLs away in your household garbage if better disposal options exist. To find out what to do first check www.earth911.org (where you can find disposal options by using your zip code) or call 1-800-CLEAN-UP for local disposal options. Another option is to check directly with your local waste management agency for recycling options and disposal guidelines in your community. Additional information is available at www.lamprecycle.org. Finally, IKEA stores take back used CFLs, and other retailers are currently exploring take back programs.
• If your local waste management agency offers no other disposal options except your household garbage, place the CFL in a plastic bag and seal it before putting it in the trash. If your waste agency incinerates its garbage, you should search a wider geographic area for proper disposal options. Never send a CFL or other mercury containing product to an incinerator.
• ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs have a two-year warranty. If the bulb fails within the warranty period, return it to your retailer.

This is part of the problem with some of the new "green" energy - it's not all that green afterall. While the compact fluorescent lightbulbs use less electricity they are tough to manufacture in a green way due to the mercury and tough to get rid of. If you break one in your home you're supposed to open all the windows, etc - which is fine in good weather - but what about in February?

There's a similar problem with the hybrid cars - all those ni-cad batteries - yikes - those are super heavy metals which, again, are tough to manufacture in a "green" manner and tough to get rid of when a new one is needed - and they are not cheap to replace.

We need to fully evaluate all options when we consume. Now that my house is fully of the CF light bulbs I'm not crazy about them at all - they get dimmer as they get older, they don't always last much longer, I can't use the dimmer switch with them, etc. I am going to go out and buy a bunch of incandescent lightbulbs before we can't buy them at all. Stock up!

The home depot will take them. I am all for going green but I think that these bulbs are a pain. I don't see how using mercury can be considered going green.

Good for you for being concerned about their lousy advice! You must have a hazardous waste disposal somewhere in your county; check w/ your trash pick up. Our city actually contracts w/ ours and they do a yearly pick up at our house of anything hazardous (cleaning chemicals, paint, oil, light bulbs, batteries, E waste, etc.)

You are actually supposed to recycle them.. Home Depot is supposed to have boxes for them but the one by me didn't even know what I was talking about when I asked. The amount of mercury is extremely small so it is not supposed to damage but once we put a ton of them in there, then what? I hae about 8 bulbs that I am trying to figure out what to do with.

call a local hardware, DIY store or national big box chain like Home Depot or Lowes. I'm pretty positive that HD and Lowe's take them.

Wow. I think I would actually escalate to their managers just so they do not continue to give out this erroneous information. I can't believe they don't know better.

Any way, to answer your question, I take mine to Home Depot. They have bins to collect these type of bulbs, bins to collect batteries etc. I have a box where I place them until I mean to go there anyway and then take them all and dispose of them there. They take care of ensuring they are properly recycled/disposed of.

Our garbage will not accept them. So much for going green, eh?

Our Home Depot has a bin to put those and batteries in...call yours and find out if they do that...

Well, none have burned out yet! They last FOREVER!

When it does happen, I'll take them to Menards.

MN is one of the leading states with recycling....it will be just a matter of time. They are working on a compost type of recycling for cities....one town already does it. (We just moved from MN.)

Home depot. Waste management also sells recycle kits for different things. You buy a kit on their website, they send you a box, and you send it back to them. The initial cost covers return postage and recycling fees. As much as I hate buying this stuff, I hate dumping my batteries in the trash more.

Your city is wrong, the light bulbs are not. Just like motor oil, car batteries, and cell phones you are supposed to take them back to the store when you replace them.

I have solved that problem by not buying them. And I'm stocking up on 75 watt (and over) incandescent because in Illinois they will be unavailable after January 1. I don't use a lot of them, but for outside lighting I do. I pretty much have a lifetime supply stocked up!

They're not really "green" anyway. All the extra regulations surrounding them make producing them very expensive and it involves extra energy use, and also the plastic containers they are sold in are bad for the environment. I don't buy the whole "green" energy thing regarding CFLs and I don't think they light well. Plus, everybody I know just tosses them in the trash when they're finished with them, so they are absolutely going to create hazards down the road environmentally.