CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light) bulbs contain mercury and are considered hazardous waste. The United States Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, "recommends that consumers take advantage of available local options for recycling CFLs, fluorescent bulbs and other bulbs that contain mercury, and all other household hazardous wastes, rather than disposing of them in regular household trash. [...] Recycling prevents the release of mercury into the environment [that] CFLs and other fluorescent bulbs [would release] when [breaking while] thrown into a dumpster, trash can or compactor, or when they end up in a landfill or incinerator." (http://www.epa.gov/cfl/cflrecycling.html)
An environmental-conscious friend of mine asked me where she could recycle her burned-out CFL bulbs. I found out that in Brevard County, we can take them to the landfill location that accepts hazardous waste at 2250 Adamson Road - Cocoa, FL 32926 - (321) 635-7954 or call Waste Management at 636-6894 or 723-4455 to order a FREE "Vapor Lok" bag (http://www.brevardcounty.us/SolidWaste/RecyclingInformation) that takes five days to be delivered. Once WM drops off the bag, you keep it until is full. Once it is full, you should call the same numbers for the bag to be picked up, also within five days.
Other alternatives listed at http://search.earth911.com, site of Earth911, Inc., "a for-profit wholly owned subsidiary of Infinity Resources Holdings Corporation that specializes in providing consumers with accessible and actionable recycling information across the country," were: Batteries Plus, Lowes, and Home Depot.
I called Lowes in Rockledge, (321) 631-0696, and they informed me that they always have a bin by Customer Services where fluorescent light bulbs, including CFLs, can be dropped off and they will take care of properly disposing of them.
Next time your bulb burns out, you now have an idea about where to go or where to look for places to drop them off. If you can't find a place to recycle your CFLs, EPA recommends to check "if your state or local environmental regulatory agency permits you to put used or broken CFLs in the regular household trash, [and if they do,] seal the bulb in a plastic bag and put it into the outside trash for the next normal trash collection."
Recycle Brevard!
UPDATE Oct 6, 2019 - Fluorescent lamps and CFLs can be dropped off at one of the county's hazardous waste collection centers: https://www.brevardfl.gov/solidwaste/householdhazardouswaste
Contact your local Lowe's or Home Depot or Batteries Plus stores to see if they still accept fluorescent lamps.
The "Vapor Lok" option doesn't seem to be available any longer. The page listed in the original post is no longer available. Contact your city/town's Solid Waste Mgmt Dept to inquire.
Some other resources for you:
https://earth911.com/recycling-guide/how-to-recycle-fluorescent-tubes/
