The Dark Side Of  Using 'Green' Bulbs In Your Del Mar Homes

As owners of Del Mar homes set up their new computers, TVs and other electronic goodies from the holidays, the increasingly eco-minded consumer is wondering: What should I do with the old ones?

Rapidly improving technology and a consumer thirst for all the latest gadgets are leaving people with a growing number of old electronics. Even though they should be recycled, most end up in the trash or gather dust in the basement. Now, states and manufacturers are trying to make it easier for people to recycle old TVs, iPods and even fluorescent light bulbs that are no longer in use in their Del Mar homes.

Retailers are seizing on "green" marketing opportunities by launching recycling initiatives. Best Buy Co. last year started a program that sponsors local drop-off events around the country, where people can bring in carloads of unused items. In October, Office Depot Inc. began selling recycling "boxes" at $5 to $15 that customers fill with office items such as laptops and fax machines to be recycled. (The company says the cost of the box helps fund the program.) Ace Hardware retailers in the Chicago area and Wisconsin last year started programs to recycle mercury-containing compact fluorescent bulbs; Wal-Mart Stores Inc. held a pilot take-back day last summer at 350 of its stores. Meanwhile, states are tightening their waste laws: Minnesota, for example, passed a law in 2007 that requires manufacturers of TVs and computers to collect and recycle by weight 60% of what they sold in the previous year.

Computers, televisions and other electronics contain materials such as lead, cadmium and mercury, which can pose a risk to human health and the environment. Energy Star-labeled electronics -- touted as eco-friendly due to the energy they save -- still contain hazardous materials. The mercury in LCD TV screens and the lead in computer monitors, for example, may contaminate soil or water if not handled properly. There's no federal law for the disposal of consumer electronics, though a handful of states have made it illegal to throw them in the trash.

• More People Recycling

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, old consumer electronics accounted for about 1.5% of 250 million tons of trash in 2006, up from 1% in 2000. According to a 2006 report from the International Association of Electronics Recyclers, an industry group based in Albany, N.Y., roughly 15% to 20% of electronic waste was recycled, up from 10% to 15% in 2003. The figures don't include products that were returned to manufacturers for recycling.

• Some environmental advocates and researchers warn that many recycled items may end up in landfills anyway, or be recycled improperly in poorer countries.

Nevertheless, more people are interested in recycling. Richard Leventhal, a small-business owner in Wellington, Fla., admits that he has put cellphones, a TV and a computer monitor in the garbage in the past. "I really didn't put a whole lot of thought into it," he says. "But with this attention to the environment, I started to."

He was in Office Depot about two months ago and saw a pamphlet for the office-supply chain's recycling program. He now takes his personal and business electronics in, because "it's easy. I just fill a box and bring it back."

• Another product that should be recycled is the fluorescent light bulb. As part of the government's focus on energy and the environment, Americans are urged to buy compact fluorescent light bulbs, which use only about 25% of the energy and last up to 10 times as long as traditional incandescent bulbs. Nearly 300 million such bulbs were sold in U.S. in 2007, compared with 100 million two years earlier, according to the Department of Energy.

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