In a state-wide initiative by Ace® Hardware, Colorado Springs residents now can drop off their used compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and mercury-containing thermostats for recycling at the following local stores. You can also recycle your CFLs at the following local lighting stores participating in our CFL program. - Austin Bluffs Lighting
4617 Austin Bluffs Parkway - Bulbs Plus
2217 East Platte Ave., Unit B - Home Lighting
624 North Tejon Street - Peak Lighting
4626 Northpark Drive
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- Garden of the Gods Ace® Hardware
4201 Centennial Blvd. - Bon Ace® Hardware
2300 N. Wahsatch Ave. - Ace® Hardware Uintah Gardens
1830B W. Uintah St. - Circle Ace® Hardware
1225 N. Circle Dr.
Bins are placed behind the counters of the Ace® stores so residents can recycle their used CFLs and thermostats. To prevent breakage, store employees will take bulbs and thermostats from residents and place them into the bins. When the bins are full, a store employee will ship them to be recycled. The entire CFL bin will be recycled – contents and container included – ensuring no mercury will escape. The bulb recycling program is for CFLs only, not fluorescent tubes, and is intended for residential use, not for businesses or the commercial industry. Used CFLs and mercury-containing thermostats should not be disposed of in household trash receptacles. If a CFL or thermostat breaks, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has advice at: http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hm/mercury/index.htm. ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs use up to 75 percent less energy and last up to 10 times longer than typical incandescent light bulbs. ENERGY STAR qualified programmable thermostats help save energy when used properly and are mercury free. Energy users who replace one incandescent bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified CFL can reduce their energy bills by us to $30 over the life of each 60-watt equivalent bulb and protect the environment. The CDPHE estimates that each CFL reduces the Colorado region’s carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 180 pounds each year and 1,270 pounds over its lifetime, compared to the use of a 75-watt incandescent bulb (based on Energy Information Administration 1605(b) Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases, assuming operation hours, regional emissions factor and a lifetime of seven years). | 
