If you live in the Kiama area, you have an opportunity tomorrow to swap up to 6 old lightbulbs or fluorescent tubes for brand new energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) for free. Just take your old bulbs to the Minnamurra Waste and Recycling Centre (the old Minnamurra tip) between 10am and 2pm tomorrow (Thursday 13 November).
CFLs and fluorescent tubes contain small amounts of mercury, which is toxic to the environment and should not go into landfill sites. Other types of lightglobes also contain various hazardous materials as well.
Kiama Council is running a four-month trial Lamp Recycling Program – the first regional council in NSW to do so. It’s great to see our local council leading the way like this. Hopefully they’ll be putting collection boxes in convenient places throughout the area – not many people are going to trek out to Minnamurra just to drop off a lightbulb.
The free CFLs are only available tomorrow, and are being provided by Cosmo Lighting (Unit 3, 9-11 Princes Hwy, Albion Park Rail, ph 4257 9111). Cosmo are one of the sponsors of [Sustainable Illawarra](http://www.sustainableillawarra.com.au/), and are very proactive in promoting energy-efficient lighting options.
Update: I went out and swapped my lightbulbs for CFLs this morning. Josephine St John (Kiama Council’s Waste Minimisation Officer) was there. She said they’d had a pretty good response, and had already collected two boxes full of bulbs for recycling. The only way council can gauge community interest in these types of environmental projects is from the number of people taking up the offers, so it’s great that lots of people are sending the message that we care.