Home Depot to recycle fluorescents at all U.S. stores

By Stephanie Rosenbloom
New York Times
Published on: 06/24/08

Some big retailers are pushing compact fluorescent light bulbs as a way to save energy. But improper disposal of the bulbs creates a hazard, because they contain small amounts of mercury.

Recycling them is about to get easier. Home Depot, the nation's second-largest retailer, will announce today that it will take back old compact fluorescents in all 1,973 of its stores in the United States, creating the nation's most widespread recycling program for the bulbs.

Until now, consumers had to seek out local hazardous waste programs or smaller retail chains willing to collect the bulbs for recycling, like IKEA and True Value. Some consumers have waited for retailers like Wal-Mart to have a designated recycling day.

Industry professionals estimate that the recycling rate is around 2 percent. Both Home Depot and Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, have vigorously promoted the bulbs as part of their commitment to the environment. Wal-Mart announced in October 2006 that it wanted to sell 100 million compact fluorescents by the end of 2007. It surpassed that goal, selling 193 million bulbs to date.

Wal-Mart has accepted expired bulbs at take-back events in particular markets and is exploring how to do it consistently on a national level.

The need for a national recycling program became apparent to Home Depot as sales of compact fluorescents, which had been slow compared with sales of incandescent bulb, climbed to 75 million last year, from about 50 million in 2006.

"We haven't really had to develop the infrastructure" before now, said Steven Hamburg, interim director of the Center for Environmental Studies at Brown University. "The demand wasn't there."

Hamburg says the average household reduces its energy budget by $12 to $20 a month using compact fluorescents. Home Depot's bulbs contain 2.3 to 3.5 milligrams of mercury, which is below the National Electrical Manufacturers Association recommendation of 5 milligrams or fewer. It is a small amount, equivalent to the volume of the steel ball in the tip of a ballpoint pen.