COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- They burn brighter, longer, and use less energy, but the squiggly looking light bulbs known as CFLs (compact fluorescent light bulbs) light up using mercury, a potentially dangerous element.

Switching out old light bulbs to the new CFLs is one of the easiest ways to go green. But what is done with the CFLs after they burn out is perhaps even more important for the environment.

"You don't want that mercury ending up in the landfill, which could then end up getting into the ground and into the ground water," Melodee Gordon, conservation specialist with Colorado Springs Utilities, said.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposure to mercury can cause damage to the brain, heart, kidneys and lungs.

When put into a landfill the EPA said mercury can potentially find its way into streams and lakes, where fish and shellfish can change it into methyl mercury, a highly toxic form, which can then be ingested by humans.

So what should be done with mercury containing CFLs?

"They're really about 98 percent recyclable. They can actually reclaim the glass, they can reclaim the mercury out of the bulb as well as the metal," Kathy Andrew, El Paso County Environmental Division Manager, said.

Experts said despite the potential danger, CFLs are still the way to go.

"If you were to change every bulb in your home, that would cut your lighting cost by 75 percent which is about 20 percent of your actual electricity bill," Gordon said.

And as long as the bulbs are whole, there's no danger.

"The only danger comes when the bulb is broken," Gordon said.

The EPA's website offers detailed but lengthy instructions for clean up.

"You want to open up a window, you don't want to use a vacuum or a broom. You want to step out of the room for at least 15 minutes," Gordon said.

So what if the bulb just burns out?

"Well if you put them in the trash then obviously that mercury that everyone is so concerned about is gonna go back into the ground and into our environment, and you don't want that. It can be recycled and reused, so why not do that?" Gordon said.

But CFLs can't be placed in the recycling with other glass.

"If they're whole and you want to recycle them you need to take them to a place that specifically recycles those kind of things. They can't go in with just your glass recyclables," Andrew said.

Various locations around Colorado Springs collect CFLs to recycle for free, such as Home Depots, Ace Hardwares, and the El Paso County Household Hazardous Waste Facility.

"Make your gas count. Collect up your things, your recyclables, take them to a facility once a quarter, something like that. We're certainty not advocating that you take them bulb by bulb," Andrew said.

Waste Management also offers a "Think Green from Home Program" which includes mail-in recycling kits for CFLs.

"It's a very easy, convenient option that can happen straight from your home. You don't have to do anything except go online and order it and fill it up. Pack it up, ship it back to us and we'll take care of everything else," Tiffiany Moehring, Communications Manager for Waste Management, said.

The cost of a kit for 13, 13-watt CFLs is $16.95. Moehring said the cost covers everything including the cost to ship the box back.

"We've had people in other neighborhoods actually order those for their entire block, you know, order a box or two and then they put it out at their block event, fill it up and send it back. Then the cost can be shared amongst all their neighbors instead of just individually," Moehring said.

So why go to all the trouble?

"It's not only good for yourself, for your family, it's just great for the environment," Gordon said.

Andrew said once a CFL bulb is broken it can no longer be recycled and must be thrown away. However, the EPA's instructions for how to properly clean up the bulb should be followed.

Andrew also adds that mercury poisoning takes place over a long period of time so exposure to one broken CFL isn't cause for a panic.

Click here for the EPA's instructions on how to clean up a broken CFL.

CFL Recycling Locations:

Ace Hardware®

4201 Centennial Blvd.    955-0428

3640 Austin Bluffs Parkway    266-4367

1225 N Circle Drive    550-3702

1830 W. Uintah Street   227-7134

2300 N. Wahsatch Avenue    577-0051

El Paso County Household Hazardous Waste Facility

3255 Akers Drive   520-7878

Home Depot® (unbroken CFLs ONLY)

15888 Jackson Creek Pkwy, Monument C   484-0900

5660 E. Woodmen Road    266-5165

7120 N. Academy Blvd.    531-6400

102 N. Academy Blvd.    573-7000

2250 Southgate Road   471-0051

Peak Lighting Products

4626 Northpark Drive   531-5200

Recycle Depot

2217 E. Platte Avenue   219-0679