The Budget Ecoist- Eco Living on a Budget

Something exciting happened this week. Finally we can stop worrying about that moment when our first CFL blows out (they really do last forever, don't they?). What would we do with it? Gone are the days of mindlessly throwing the dead lightbulb into the garbage. This is mercury, afterall.

But as of Tuesday, June 24, it's easy sailing in the mercury anxiety department (except for the worry of what happened to all those old thermometers replaced by their snazzier digital types). Why are you no longer worried about your CFL disposal, you ask? Because seventy-five percent of households are located within a ten mile radius of a Home Depot store.

This week Home Depot launched their national CFL bulb recycling initiative. At each Home Depot store, customers can simply bring in any expired, unbroken CFL bulbs, and give them to the store clerk behind the returns desk. The bulbs will then be managed responsibly by an environmental management company who will coordinate CFL packaging, transportation and recycling to maximize safety and ensure environmental compliance.

How easy is that? Now if we could only convince Starbucks to let us drop off our paint cans we'd be set!