Jun 16 - IKEA to Eliminate Incandescent Bulbs

According to Environmental Leader, IKEA announced it will eliminate all incandescent light bulbs in its U.S. stores starting August 1, 2010. The initiative is slated to be completed by January 1, 2011, which would make IKEA the first US retailer to have entirely eliminated incandescent bulbs.

IKEA will likely need to retool its lineup of lamps, since lamps designed to fit with the old incandescent bulbs will now be obsolete. Consumers can expect to see more compact fluorescent lights (CFL), halogen lights and light-emitting diodes.

CFLs use up to 80% less energy and last 10 times as long compared with traditional incandescents. However, they contain trace amounts of mercury, a neurotoxin, and it is illegal to thrown CFLs away in the trash. To encourage proper disposal, the company currently provides an CFL recycling bins for its customers at each store, and recycled 126,722 CFLs in 2006.

Halogen lights and light-emitting diodes also have their benefits and drawbacks.

  • Learn more: CAW- sponsored bill AB 1173 (Huffman, 2009 ) would have created convenient recycling opportunties for consumers of fluorescent lamps statewide. The bill was vetoed by the governor.
Lanh Nguyen