CFLs are made of glass and can break if dropped or roughly handled. Be careful when removing the bulb from its packaging, installing it or replacing it. Always screw and unscrew the light bulb by its base (not the glass), and never forcefully twist the CFL into a light socket. If a CFL breaks in your home, follow the EPA's cleanup recommendations. Be sure to properly dispose of your old CFLs.

Recycling prevents the release of mercury into the environment. CFLs and other fluorescent bulbs often break when thrown into a dumpster, trash can or compactor, or when they end up in a landfill or incinerator. When recycled, the other materials in the bulbs get reused. Recycling CFLs and other fluorescent bulbs allows for the reuse of the glass, metals and other materials that make up fluorescent bulbs. Virtually all components of a fluorescent bulb can be recycled.

CFLs may or may not burn out in the same way you are used to incandescent bulbs burning out. Just like an incandescent, it is possible to find that the CFL simply stops working while other times there are visible signs that the bulb has failed.

All of the bulbs offered by LG&E and KU are approved by UL, the familiar Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., and are safety tested and approved for use in U.S. homes. "People expect to see the bright flash and to hear the popping like a traditional incandescent bulb, but the burn out of a CFL is different. The light dims over time and might produce a more dramatic pop, emit a distinct odor, and maybe even release some smoke," said John Drengenberg, consumer affairs manager, Underwriters Laboratories (UL).

In some cases, Drengenberg said that the plastic at the base of a CFL can turn black, but further states that this is also normal in most cases, as safety standards require the use of special flame retardant plastics in the base that do not burn or drop particles.

"CFLs are one of the products that we regularly test and investigate to specific UL requirements for electrical safety, fire and shock hazards," he said. "Any popping sounds or smoke that a consumer might see when a CFL burns out means that the bulb's end-of-life mechanism worked as it should have."

The EPA recommends that consumers take advantage of available local recycling options for compact fluorescent light bulbs. The EPA is working with CFL manufacturers and major U.S. retailers to expand recycling and disposal options. Consumers can contact their local municipal solid waste agency directly, or visit epa.gov/cfl/cflrecycling.html or www.earth911.org to identify local recycling options.

CFL bulbs do contain a very small amount of mercury and, thus, should be disposed of properly.

Fluorescent light bulbs contain a small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. When a fluorescent bulb breaks in your home, some of this mercury could be released as mercury vapor. To minimize exposure to mercury vapor, the EPA recommends that residents follow cleanup and disposal steps. A cleanup overview is described below. Please visit epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup.html for more information.