Look for the Simple Steps, Smart Savings sign when shopping for compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and low-flow showerheads at several local retailers. The sign indicates products that are discounted as part of a Chelan County PUD program to bring savings to consumers.

Customers will find prices already marked down on compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), indoor hard-wired fixtures and low-flow showerheads. Markdowns range from about 50 cents below suggested retail for general purpose CFLs to up to $7 on energy-saving showerheads.

Items available through the Simple Steps, Smart Savings program include:

• Twist CFLs – Regular Twists, Daylight Twists and A-Lamps
• Specialty CFLs – Reflectors, Globes, Candelabras, Torpedo Bulbs and Outdoor Lighting
• Fixtures – Indoor Hard-Wired Fixtures
• Showerheads – Those using 2.0 gallons per minute or less (showerhead discounts available at Costco and Fred Meyer only)

To find the store nearest you, visit the PUD website. Remember to recycle your used CFLS at any PUD office.

Chelan County PUD’s Lightly e-newsletter has joined the Facebook crowd. Find it at www.Facebook.com/LightlyNewsAndTips.

A summary of stories from the Lightly blog is sent to subscribers in an e-mail newsletter every other month. Now readers can get updates and give comments more frequently via Facebook.

Got a burning question about fuel costs? Need a little light shed on compact fluorescent light bulbs? Want money back on buying new windows? Ask, learn and take action with help from Lightly.

Back in April, we wrote about the only place we know of in the Wenatchee area to recycle fluorescent tubes:  Apple City Electric. The company owns a  “Bulb Eater” that crunches used tubes into a sealed 55-gallon drum for environmentally responsible disposal.

The Bulb Eater is still going strong, but it’s moved. Apple City is now located at 500A Ohme Garden Road. The phone number is the same: (509) 663-2681.

Apple City charges 20 cents per foot of fluorescent tube plus $1 per ballast for the recycling service. Disposal is handled by the Air Cycle Corporation of Broadview, Ill. 

Compact fluorescent light bulbs used in homes can be recycled at PUD offices in Wenatchee, Leavenworth or Chelan, or at Home Depot or Lowe’s in Wenatchee.

Here’s an option for safe disposal of fluorescent tubes

"The Bulb Eater," as shown on the Air Cycle company's Web site

Looking for an environmentally friendly way to dispose of fluorescent tubes?  Apple City Electric in Wenatchee has a “Bulb Eater” that crunches used tubes into a sealed 55-gallon drum for environmentally responsible disposal.  Apple City charges 20 cents per foot of fluorescent tube plus $1 per ballast for the recycling service, said the company’s Kay Williams.

Disposal is handled by the Air Cycle Corporation of Broadview, Ill. A freight truck picks up the crunched bulbs when notified, Williams said. “We’ve had a couple of pick-ups from doing a big retrofit on a commercial building,” she said. “Before the lamp-gobbler, we had to box up all those bulbs and get them ready for shipping.”

Apple City Electric can also recycle HDI (heavy duty illumination) lamps for $2 apiece.

Apple City Electric is located at 326 N. Wenatchee Ave., phone (509) 663-2681.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs used in homes can be recycled at PUD offices in Wenatchee, Leavenworth or Chelan, or at Home Depot in Wenatchee.