5 Ways to Recycle a CFL

Lighter Footstep has some great suggestions on recycling CFL's. I didn't know that there was MERCURY in Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb (CFL's). That fact makes it very important to dispose of them correctly. Read on:

If you're the sort of person who reads articles like this, you probably think pretty much everyone knows about CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs) by now.

Think again. Despite widespread availability and dramatically lower prices -- name brand CFL bulbs go for about two dollars these days -- CFL adoption in the United States remains around 6 percent. The rate is much higher in Europe and parts of Asia. Still, in the largest single consumer market in the world, CFL awareness remains in single digits. Contrast this with a recent survey suggesting up to 34 percent of all Americans believe in UFOs.

Mercury in CFLs It's not unreasonable to think that even fewer people know CFLs contain mercury. A small amount, sure: the National Electrical Manufacturers Association recently capped 25 watt CFLs at 5 milligrams per bulb. But as adoption rates rise, so does the importance of sending CFLs to a recycler, rather than the landfill.

Herein lies the problem. While retailers such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot have exhibited environmental leadership by bringing CFLs to market, they've been far less forthcoming in taking them back. CFLs can last three to five years under normal use, which means the vast majority of bulbs ever sold are still in service.

By 2010, however, The U.S. could be looking at 80 to 100 million improperly disposed CFLs annually if people don't know any better and convenient recycling isn't available. That would represent an intolerable toxic burden to our current methods of waste disposal.

Read the rest about your CFL Recycling Options here -- 5 Ways to Recycle a CFL.

On the knitting front, I'm still working on Rowan's "Sage." I'm about 1/8 up the back section. And since I've frogged the socks, more progress has been made on Sage. I'm hoping to get it done for the 85* weather we're currently having.

In other news, I have started my annual 'pumpkin soup' recipe search. All pumpkin soups will be considered because I love me some pumpkin soup. I'll link to the more interesting sounding ones for you when I find them.

The only other note of mention is that Luna is still perfect!

Simply Recipes' "Pumpkin Soup with Smoked Paprika"

Men are like pumpkins. It seems like all the good ones are either taken or they've had everything scraped out of their heads with a spoon.