I have now gone around the house and changed all of my light bulbs to compact fluorescent. I realized that I have a lot of lights! I did this to reduce my carbon footprint, but now I have a problem. I can’t recycle the old incandescent bulbs. I’m trying to save the Earth, so I don’t want to throw them away. What am I supposed to do with them?

Way to go! You must be sleeping like a baby at night with a clear conscience (and a fluorescent night light).

Kevin Miller, Napa’s recycling coordinator, told me that incandescent light bulbs are not recyclable and the Hazardous Waste Collection Facility won’t take them. Why? Because they’re apparently not hazardous. You should just throw them away in the trash. As my readers know, tossing something in the regular old trash is a rare recommendation in this column.

Those compact fluorescent bulbs, which are said to last a long, long time, are a different story, though. They contain mercury and need to be sent to the Hazardous Waste Facility.

Why the impression that incandescent bulbs are not for the trash? Miller said that long ago, some incandescent bulbs had lead in the solder where the glass meets the base. That was phased out long enough ago, and such bulbs no longer would be in anyone’s home.

I ride a motorcycle and there are times when I can’t get the light to recognize that I’m there. It goes through its cycle without giving me a green. Why?

I don’t ride a motorcycle, but there are certain intersections where this happens to me, too. I don’t drive a Hummer, but it’s not like I drive a Mini either (although I would love to). So what’s not working and how can I change things so I don’t have to run a light to get unstuck from the intersection?

My visit to the City Public Works yard, and a talk with electrician Jeff Taylor and Electrical Supervisor Steve Crego, gave me some insight.

They told me this can happen where there are loops embedded in the asphalt designed to detect the vehicle on the road and send a signal to the control box for the light. For some reason, the loops in the intersection are not recognizing a motorcycle or other vehicle waiting to make a move.

The only thing to do — and Taylor and Crego made it clear they were not recommending doing anything unsafe or illegal — is to safely maneuver your vehicle so it crosses the lines of the loop again. For a motorcycle, idling slightly off center at the light so you cross the lines could give you a better chance of being detected. Another way to get the loop’s attention is to back up and cross over it again.

Taylor said that some intersection loops have crosshatches on the front of the loop to make them more sensitive to smaller vehicles.

My plan: Go off the beaten path and find a back road.



What is Glad You Asked?

Glad You Asked attempts to answer readers’ questions. So if you’re revved up to feel the wind of knowledge blowing through your mind, don’t idle indefinitely, send your query to me at jdecker@napanews.com or 256-2215.