Recycling drama: light bulbs

My summer hobby this year, unfortunately, is to clean out possibly the country's worst garage. But before I chastise my family for junking up an area to the point of ridiculousness, I found a light bulb.

There's nothing particularly special about it, but it was broken. I found it in a plastic lamp that would be adorable on a teenage girl's nightstand. So when I was preparing the item for the Goodwill donation stash, I realized the light bulb had broken into two pieces. The inside of the base was rusty, and, of course, I wondered if I released toxins like tungsten and argon while pulling the base out of the lamp's grip.

I tossed the bulb into the garbage can. I didn't think to recycle it properly until messy garbage was piled over it, and I didn't feel like putting my hand inside. I have items stocked up throughout the house that need to be properly recycled.  

There should be more advertising about recycling centers and popular items we throw away every day that actually need to be recycled. I'm fortunate to live in California where we recycle big time, but we recycle the obvious things like paper and cans. There are so many other things that need to be recycled like light bulbs and batteries, and nothing's being done about it. Maybe I'll do something... 

REVISED

Read my article: State set to phase out incandescents starting Jan. 1