Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) are a great way to green your home because they use 2/3 less energy than regular incandescent bulbs and last ten times longer. CFLs also produce 70% less heat than incandescent bulbs so they cut the costs of cooling your home. However, CFLs do contain a small amount of mercury and therefore should not be thrown away with your regular trash. And never discard a CFL or other product containing mercury in an incinerator. IKEA stores take back used CFLs. If you have no place to discard a CFL other than your household garbage, put the CFL in a plastic bag and seal it before throwing it away. But the best option is to recycle your CFLs.

New York City
New York City residents can bring CFLs as well as fluorescent tubes to NYC Department of Sanitation Special Waste Collection Centers in each borough. The sites are open from 10am-5pm the last Friday of each month and every Saturday except the last Saturday of each month.

Manhattan: Dept. of Sanitation N.Y. (DSNY) Garage at 605 W. 30th Street, between 11th and 12th Avenues.

Brooklyn: Bay 41st Street and Gravesend Bay, south of the Belt Parkway (adjacent to the DSNY Brooklyn 11 garage)

Bronx: Hunts Point at Farragut Street and East River.

Queens: College Point at 30th Avenue, between 120th and 122nd Streets

Staten Island: The foot of Muldoon Avenue off the West Shore Expressway (440) adjacent to the DSNY Staten Island 3 garage.

For more information, call the New York City Citizen Service Center at 311 or visit:http://home2.nyc.gov/html/nycwasteless/html/at_home/special_waste.shtml


Westchester County
Westchester County holds Household Chemical Clean-Up Days when residents can discard CFLs and other hazardous waste. For a schedule, call (914) 637-3037 or visit:http://www.westchestergov.com/envfacil/2003HCCDFlier.htm


New York State Regions
Many municipalities in New York State have Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Programs through specific collection days or permanent HHW facilities. To find an HHW program in your area, visit http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/8780.html.