News-Record.com

We're gradually replacing our 19th-century Thomas Edison light bulbs with new cfl bulbs to reduce electricity use, cut emissions, reverse global warming, restore the polar icecap, saving the polar bears and all mankind.

Makes me feel great about myself.

But what's with all the plastic packaging on these bulbs? Minimizing the danger of mercury contamination? The old bulbs come with just a little bit of soft cardboard packaging, which probably breaks down to nothing pretty quickly in the landfill. Is this progress? *Doug

Good Grief Doug! You sound like a doom and gloom green democrat tree huging freak who thinks western civilization will be in a landfill in the next 2 years. Has it every occure to you how humanity made though the nights with light for 3000 years? Do you really believe that all humanity went to bed when the Sun went down for the past 3000 years?

Are you aware that ancient civilizations use Olive Oil to light up the night for thousands of years. Than after that came candles, Whale oil, Keosene, in that order to carry on the business of the night. Heck! the electical lightbub has only been around for a hundred years. No long ago, a bunch of reseachers were digging up the ancient city of Troy at 9 level when they discover the city's trashfill. In it was broken dishes with a note attached to the dishes. " If you continue to dump your broken dishes into this fill, We will attack and destroy you, and we are not jocking around"

Signed......The Greek Green Temple movement for a cleaner empire and democracy........Homer

I suppose because these new high tech bulbs are so expensive and to prevent returns as a result of damage, stiffer packaging is necessary. However, in light of the BTU's I generate, contributing further to ozone depletion, when trying to wrestle open the packages makes me wonder if the tradeoff is worth it.

Anyway, the packaging is recycleable.

I've been planning to put together some kind of "guide" for consumers as far as recycling of CFLs, but for now here's one option:

http://www.recyclebulbs.com/index_files/Page777.htm

This company has a facility in Burlington, but I don't know (yet) if they serve as a collection point. This mail-back package seems kind of expensive ($15.75), but considering it holds over a dozen of the little guys, you'd have to probably have to collect (used) bulbs from everybody you know just to fill it. Which is cool.