Forest Park, IL - When they're not evangelizing about glass art's impact on interior design, Two Fish Art Glass owners Cecelia Hardacker and Tonya Hart are coaxing and cajoling customers and friends to swap out their traditional light bulbs for the eco-friendly "Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs," or CFLs.
Hardacker and Hart became big fans of CFLs when they installed them in their Madison Street shop and realized an $1,800 savings on their monthly electric bill. This inspired them to become the official west-of-the-Loop drop-off center for recycling CFLs in their efforts to encourage people to "go green."
"Not only do the CFLs minimize the wattage used, but they also minimize the heat that's generated by traditional light bulbs," explains Hardacker. "Our CFLs generate 30 percent of the heat of a traditional bulb, so this affected how often our air conditioner was running, which reduced our summer cooling bill."
Enthused co-owner Hart notes, "These next-generation CFLs have a different type of ballast, so they don't have the irritating buzzing sound and flickering, nor the bluish cast to them that people remember from the first-generation CFLs. These are silent and give off a more natural light."
Because the CFLs contain a tiny amount of mercury, they need to be disposed of in an eco-friendly manner. Two Fish Art Glass employees voluntarily transport the CFL bulbs to a center where the glass is processed and the ballasts are recycled.
Additionally, Two Fish propagates the green movement by carrying recycled products, including "Mad Mats," indoor/outdoor carpets made from recycled plastic bottles; Mosaic Mirrors crafted in their store with recycled glass; and by offering customers a $5 credit toward their next purchase if they return a Two Fish box for reuse. They also give visitors CFL information handouts and provide CFL data on their Web site: www.twofishartglass.com.
For more information on their CFL Recycle Program, call Two Fish Art Glass at (708) 366-6800.