Core charges for car batteries, starters, etc are certainly an old idea; but they work because the item being replaced has considerable value for recycling/rebuilding.

(For those unfamiliar with them, "core charges" are added to the price of certain automotive items when you buy a new one...when you hand in the old parts you get your core charge refunded, and the old part goes to a remanufacturer to be refurbished, or in the case of batteries to be torn down so the plates inside can be recycled)

I like the core charge idea more then consumer deposits on capital items; if you're buying a new something to replace a broken thing, you're likely to return the broken thing to get the core charge back pretty quickly. Not have deposits hanging around for years on the books.

quote:

Originally posted by Matt-choo:
How is it companies can profit from all sorts of toxic and hazardous materials released into the mass-consumer market and not bear any responsibility for the disposal of these products or the waste stream they generate?

Because our Congress mandated the use of an item only made in China and they (china and Congress) don't care. Brilliant move! Who's in charge in Congress anyway? Another feel good move - I do use them for the cost savings.

Dirt

In the UK we are encouraged to stop using the old incandescent bulbs (I think they are going to be banned soon_) and convert to the new 'low energy' Cfs. However, I just find them to be a big dissapointment. They take too long to light up, they don't last as long as they should and of course there is the mercury problem. We installed them all over our house but have been slowly replacing them. They are a hazard on the stairs - you are halfway up/down before they light up. In the lounge they are so weak we have to have 3 going at once if we want to read.
I am not convinced our electricity use has gone down at all - in fact its probably gone up because the bulbs are so slow at lighting up.

Anyway, in an insulated house with thermostatically controlled heating, the heat from 'old' bulbs just results in the heating sitting working less - so whats the problem?

We have replaced most of the light bulbs in our house with these florescents and don't seem to have the problems with them that you said. Ikea does have recycling bins in their stores to take the old ones back (you can check their website) and I had also heard the Home Depot was also going to start. So far I have had one that has needed replacing, I have placed it in a wine box for safe keeping until I can get to Ikea to recycle it.