Lowe’s will take burnt out cfls, and dispose of them properly. Please make the effort to drop them off for everyone’s health’s sake!

The picture that accompanies this article shows a cheap, "dumb" battery charger that runs for a set time, usually 8 hours. If you’re traveling light and need something to re-power your batteries once or twice while on the road, they’re okay for that. But regular use of them will shorten the lives of your rechargeables.

There are some really super chargers that are very inexpensive (about $25) considering how sophisticated they are. Two that seemed good when I was looking (which was a couple years ago; current shoppers should do their own research) were the La Crosse BC-900 and the Rayovac Universal Battery Charger PS3. These are ‘smart chargers’ — for example, the PS3 is smart enough to recognize the difference between various rechargeable batteries, and can automatically initiate the correct charging method. When a battery is inserted into the PS3, the charger begins with a small “trickle current” to determine which type it is. The charger will then use feedback from this procedure to utilize the appropriate charging current and charging time until the battery is ready. The charger has four independent charging channels, so you can charge different batteries in any channel. Each channel comes with a status indicator LED, which turns off once each battery is fully charged. These chargers also have diodes that prevent reverse current flow.

It’s important to read the instructions on rechargeable batteries and battery chargers. I’ve seen people leave batteries in a "dumb charger", plugged into a wall socket, for over a month…. possibly no harm was done, but all it takes is for a battery to be that single “lemon” out of thousands and something really bad could happen. I’ve also witnessed someone mixing AA and AAA batteries in one of the little “dumb chargers” and plugging it in overnight. Those little pocket chargers are not designed for mixing different size batteries and this could cause overheating and a possible fire.

Older rechargeable NiCad (Nickel-cadmium) batteries contain cadmium, a toxic heavy metal that leeches into the environment when discarded. They also tend to have ‘memory’ which means that if you recharge a battery when it’s lost only half its power, it will thenceforth only recharge halfway. The newer rechargeable NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) batteries don’t have the ‘memory’ issue, but they self-discharge (lose power) at a high rate — around 30pc to 60pc per month, even when not used. Fortunately, there are better rechargeables now available!

Sanyo makes the Eneloop and Rayovac makes the Hybrid; they are supposed to be similar in properties. I haven’t used the Eneloop, but I’ve used plenty of the Hybrid batteries and love them. Eneloop and Hybrid batteries do not have the rapid self-discharge that plague regular NiMH batteries. They hold their power for about as long as regular alkalines, and you can rapidly save big money on battery purchases — hundreds of dollars, no exaggeration. Rayovac Hybrids are available at Target for about $10 for a package of four batteries. Currently made only in AA and AAA but I called Rayovac and they tell me that more sizes are in the works.
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As for the CFL lamps, I am still using some that I bought in 1992 and have used continually ever since. I also have other, newer spiral style CFL lamps (‘lamp’ is the technically correct term for a "light bulb" type device) that have been used daily since being purchased about six or eight years ago. In the past 18 years, I’ve had exactly THREE of my CFLs burn out; my entire house is outfitted with them (except for a couple incandescent lamps that are on dimmer switches) and the rest keep working year in and year out. Rather than just bleating "they burn out fast, they must be junk" maybe you folks should try to figure out WHY they’re burning out. It’s possible that some CFLs may indeed be inferior products from corner-cutting Asian factories; so, try several different brands of CFLs and see if they all exhibit the same problems. If your CFLs burn out all the time, my guess is that you may be getting current fluctuations. Electric current is not uniform, as most people assume. CFLs are sophisticated electronic devices, not just a wire inside a glass bulb like the old incandescants. Spikes will severely shorten the life of sensitive devices. You should regard your CFLs as ‘canaries in the coal mine’ and investigate the source of the problem. Current spikes will kill ALL of your expensive electronics, including your computer, television, stereo, etc. — all of which should be connected to power manager devices that control spiking. You can pick these up for about $25 each — cheap insurance. In addition, if your CFLs all burn out quickly, it may well be indicitave of frequent, severe power fluctuations. You may want to consult an electrician about putting a similar device inline on the main power line to correct the problem throughout your house.