The day is not far off when you will be able to say, “Ah yes, sonny, I’m old enough to remember when we used fluorescent light bulbs.”
Within a couple years, those buzzing 4-foot tubes hanging in workspaces, as well as those curly screw-in bulbs in our homes will no longer be for sale in Vermont! (Click here for more information)
What’s going on? Well, these fluorescent bulbs have been great because they use drastically less energy than conventional bulbs did. But they contain a tiny amount of mercury, which contributes to mercury contamination of our fish and wildlife when they are broken or trashed. Now you can replace these bulbs with LEDs–which don’t have mercury and are at least as efficient, brighter and can reduce your lighting portion of your electric bill by a significant percentage.
If you have fluorescent lighting products in your home or business, Efficiency Vermont is currently offering a variety of rebates on LEDs to replace them (visit http://www.efficiencyvermont.com/rebates )
For businesses, check out http://www.efficiencyvermont.com/BizLighting for a more detailed list of how Efficiency Vermont can support your lighting projects. They can refer electricians, offer help and assistance with all available options, and suggest stores to work with around the state.
In the Brattleboro area, Efficiency Vermont works directly with Granite City Electric, and the rebates are given at the time of sale! No paperwork is required, and Granite City receives their incentives directly from the state.
Now, how to properly dispose of the old fluorescent bulbs? Well, here at WSWMD we can take your old fluorescents for recycling for free!* *(First 10 tubes are free-daily! then $.20/foot after 10 in same day)
Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) that screw into your lamps, we take free every day-no maximum.
Need to dispose of LED bulbs now? For just $5, we can recycle them in our electronics recycling, or they can just go into the trash. Please see the scale house for more information.
Check out our website here for more details.