I don't mean I'm opposed to recycling. Is anyone? Okay, I know some people claim that it's all a hoax and that what you think is being recycled is actually just put in the dump with everything else. And I know some people care a lot more than others. But I imagine there aren't many people who are actually anti-recycling. There is, however, one aspect of recycling that kind of annoys me, and it's light bulbs.

Having stayed in the same apartment for the last several years, I've had the opportunity to replace 8 different fluorescent light bulbs. Getting rid of the used fluorescent tubes is easy. All I have to do is make an appointment a week in advance, then drive 15 miles to our city landfill, which will, given the proper proof of residence in that city, gladly take them off my hands. I make a point of doing it, because fluorescent tubes contain mercury, and I don't want to dispose of that irresponsibly. But it's a shame that more recycling centers (at least here in San Diego) don't seem able to handle those fluorescent tubes.

Of course, the old-fashioned tubes are not popular lighting choices anymore, anyway, increasingly yielding to their snazzier new kid on the block, the Complact Fluorescent Light. Thankfully, recycling CFLs seems to be a lot easier (with Home Depot, among other places, accepting used ones), but as we get closer to eliminating the traditional incandescent bulb altogether here in the U.S., I'm still a little concerned about using CFLs because of their potentially hazardous nature when they break. I'm never going to be crazy about having something in my home that makes me put the HazMat team on speed dial.

So, in short: I hope LEDs become commonplace very soon.