Local drugstore chain Bartell Drugs made headlines today with its announcement that it will now be accepting used compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) for recycling at all of its 56 stores in King, Snohomish
and Pierce counties. The recycling service, which is the result of a partnership between Bartell and Seattle-based recycling firm Total Reclaim, is free to the public.
The new Bartell program helps solve a dilemma for consumers who have made the switch to the more efficient CFLS: what to do with the burned-out bulbs once they've reached the end of their (albeit long) useful lives. The bulbs present a disposal problem because each one contains a small amount of mercury, and the hazardous heavy metal threatens surrounding wildlife (and public drinking water) when it leaches from landfills and pollutes the groundwater. Options for safe disposal and recycling do exist, but because many residents don't know where they are (and many aren't even aware of the problem), the bulbs don't always get where they need to go.
Since Bartell names itself as one of the leading Puget Sound-area retailers of CFLs, we applaud the store for shouldering the financial and organizational responsibility for making safe disposal an easy option. This is a retailer-led example of a concept called Product Stewardship, in which companies assume the financial and infrastructure burdens associated with responsible and safe disposal or recycling of their products. (For more on this topic, see our post on the Northwest Product Stewardship Council.)
Want to learn more about how to recycle or safely dispose of all kinds of materials you'll find around the home? Visit the Take It Back Network.
Photo credit: flickr/haeretik, Creative Commons license.
