For all the energy savings and efficiencies associated with compact fluorescent lightbulbs, the risks of adding more mercury to the waste stream has been a downside to increased use of the low-energy bulbs. Today Governor John Baldacci signed into law An Act To Provide for the Safe Collection and Recycling of Mercury-containing Lighting. The law forces manufacturers to help Maine establish the first-in-the-nation compact fluorescent lightbulb — and lighting — recycling program. It's an effort to limit the amount of mercury, a toxic substance known to contribute to birth defects, from entering the food chain.