CFLs!!! I know, I know, you are probably so tired of hearing about changing to compact fluorescent light bulbs by now. But the savings are pretty undeniable. But there are some major issues, such as the mercury content and disposal. There is also the concern over CFLs making people sick, triggering headaches and epilepsy in children. But it seems like the verdict is still out on that one. If I had children however, I think I would stick with conventional bulbs or LEDs.

The concern over disposal is pretty big for me. Fortunately Home Depothas a recycle program. But if you have a problem with who Home Depot supports then there are other options for you. There are recycling programs where containers are sent to your home for you to fill with unbroken bulbs and then send back to a recycling facility. But these kits do cost money. So unfortunately if you don’t have the money and your city has no other options it’s off to Home Depot you go. Two kits I found on-line were Sylvania and Recycle Your CFL. To find out if there is a CFL recycling center near you you can go to Earth 911 .

Now all that’s great, I’ve got it covered on where I can recycle my CFLs but what about if they break? You can find some good information about the mercury in CFLs as well as clean up instructions on many sites. Here is a pretty informative one from snopes. If you read through the instructions you will see why I said I would not get CFLs if I had children. I can’t imagine going into hazmat cleanup mode with little kids running around. Just my personal opinion.

(References from: Natural News, Move- do it green, Public Citizen, Wikipedia, Snopes )

(Image above: Move- do it green )