Ideal Bite picked up on this this morning, and I also saw mention of this in the email newsletter from Natural Home Magazine today – The Home Depot has announced it will provide compact-fluorescent-light recycling

We’ve been using CFLs for years, but they are a real hassle when they DO finally burn out since you can’t throw them in the trash (it is illegal to send a CFL to the dump). CFLs have trace amounts of mercury. But Home Depot’s announcement certainly is good news! I have been carrying around 2 burned out Aerogarden grow bulbs in my car since my husband went by Junction True Value to turn them in for recycling and found out it would cost 75 cents each to recycle. Aren’t you glad you waited, honey?

The Home Depot has agreed that if consumers bring their used CFLs to any of its 1,973 locations, they will recycle them for free.

“With more than 75 percent of households located within 10 miles of a Home Depot store, this program is the first national solution to providing Americans with a convenient way to recycle CFLs,” says Ron Jarvis, The Home Depot’s senior vice president of Environmental Innovation

Please be careful when transporting CFLs to the store for recycling; broken CFLs increases chances for mercury exposure. The bulbs I have in my car right now are in the original packaging of the replacement bubls, so they are cushioned and protected.

Also, don’t forget to grab your dead batteries because Home Depot recycles them, too.

Thanks, Home Depot. You truly ARE a big help.