Baltimore City does not accept CFLs for recycling.
Harford County residents must cart CFLs to the Scarboro landfill. Anne Arundel County residents must drop them off at a monthly event. Howard County accepts them only on Saturdays, April through November, at the Alpha Ridge landfill.
Carroll County will accept fluorescent bulbs for the first time on April 26, at an HHW event in Westminster.
Some stores willing
All IKEA stores and some Ace and Tru-Value hardware stores will take back spent CFL bulbs.
But big box stores "have been much more reluctant to go down this path," Kohorst said. "They worry about spills and breakage and employee training. They see it as a very complicated and troublesome avenue to go down."
frank.roylance@baltsun.com
Sun reporter Liz F. Kay contributed to this article.
For information on local recycling programs for fluorescent bulbs, go to mde.state.md.us/Programs/LandPrograms/Solid_Waste/cfl_mercury.asp
How to Handle a Broken Bulb
The Environmental Protection Agency recommends taking precautions when cleaning up compact fluorescent bulbs because they contain small amounts of mercury - much less than a standard thermometer:
Send people and pets out of the room. Open windows and air the room out for 15 minutes. Shut off forced-air heating and air-conditioning systems.
Scoop up glass fragments and powder with a stiff paper or cardboard and seal them in a glass jar or plastic bag.
Use sticky tape to pick up any remaining debris. Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or wet wipes, and place them in the jar or bag.
If vacuuming is necessary, remove the bag after you're done, or wipe the canister and dispose of everything in the plastic bag with the other debris.
Immediately place the debris bag or jar outside, and dispose of them as required by your state or local government - at a recycling center if necessary.
The next few times you vacuum, open the windows and shut off the forced-air systems before you start, and for 15 minutes after you're through.
