PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 14, 2023
Maine started giving the side-eye to the traditional fluorescent lightbulb back in 2009, when it became the first state in the country to require manufacturers to lower the amount of mercury in the bulbs and fund a retail-based recycling and disposal program. Last week, after years of trying to work out problems with recycling them, Maine finally broke up with the fluorescent bulb. Like Vermont and California, Maine adopted a law that will phase out the sale of the vast majority of these former environmental darlings by 2026.