I DON’T MEAN TO SUGGEST that we deserve all kinds of credit just for recycling our flourescent light bulbs. Really, it should be standard practice to go the extra mile and take the old tubes to one of several conveniently located household hazardous waste depots provided by the city. But I’m making a big deal out of it to give ourselves positive reinforcement, so that we keep on doing it. Sometimes at the end of a long week of work, you can’t be bothered to start separating the trash and take it to different locations. But if we don’t make the extra effort, then we’re personally responsible for poisoning our own water table with mercury. Note that even though we are employing a lighting technology that consumes less fossil fuels, it is still problematic because it produces hazardous waste. This can only be a temporary solution; ultimately, we need to transition all of our activities to nature-neutral ones. But for now, we’ll half-step and take responsibility for our part. In the photo on the right, Peter is obviously removing the old tubes, and in the one on the left, a jedi knight employed by the city is deftly swinging several light sabres at once, obscuring his secret identity.
Tags: recycling
