Energy-efficient Bulbs – Dangers? Disposal?

Frank is an idiot here. I posted the below info on his blog, yet he removed.

"And how do you dispose of a bulb? Just throw it out? NO (unless Illinois law so permits)."

Guess what genius, Illinois law DOES permit your to throw bulbs away! Neat huh?

"my guess is that bulbs should be recycled and not just thrown out in the trash."

Yeah, keep guessing. Oh, did you know that "guessing" does not equal "fact"?

While it is a good idea to not fill the landfills with mercury of a million of these bulbs, the City of Chicago website does say the mercury level of a broken bulb is not harmful.

Here is the link to the EPA website, just in case you thought Frank was genius enough to come up with his "clean up". (Just like to give proper credit.)

http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm#flourescent

Here is the info for disposal from Chicago website:

CFL General Use Information/Disposal
It is best to replace regular bulbs with CFL bulbs in the rooms that get the most use to ensure maximum energy savings. Start out with replacing the incandescent bulbs in the living room, kitchen, or dining room to see big savings on your monthly bill. Like incandescent bulbs, CFL bulbs comes in a variety of wattages and lumens (light output). A typical 13-watt CFL bulb will provide the same amount of light as a 60-watt incandescent bulb. Likewise, you would use a 23-watt CFL bulb to produce the same amount of energy as a 100-watt incandescent bulb. Make sure that you have the right CFL for the light fixture. For example, you should not use a regular CFL bulb in outdoor fixtures, dimming light or fixtures that are connected to a three-way switch. There are specially labeled CFL bulbs for those types of fixtures, so make sure you read the packaging when purchasing bulbs for your home.
When a CFL burns out, the best thing to do is to take it to the City’s Household Products and Electronics Recycling Center, which is located at 1150 N. Branch. Each CFL contains a small amount of mercury. There is not enough mercury to harm you if a bulb breaks, but, if enough bulbs are dumped into landfills, there could be significant environmental impacts. For more information, see the City’s Household Hazardous Waste web site.