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FREE Compact Fluorescent and Battery Recycling at IKEA

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FREE Compact Fluorescent and Battery Recycling at IKEA
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anthony on 15/09/2011 - 14:12 ikea.com (1020 clicks)
Last edited 15/09/2011 - 14:12

Now I know this may not be a deal by normal standards however I know there are places which will charge you $1-2 to recycle each of your compact fluorescent bulbs however Ikea is doing it for free!

Because of the mercury in fluorescent bulbs you should not put them in your normal rubbish bin as the mercury can pollute the landfill and groundwater.

IKEA offers customers a used light bulb, compact fluorescent and household battery take back service. These products contain small amounts of chemicals and should not be placed in landfill. So please bring your used bulbs and batteries back to IKEA and deposit them in the take-back containers, located just after the checkouts.

Home & Garden Battery Fluorescent Recycle Recycling

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closed Comments

  • retiredfeline on 15/09/2011 - 14:15

    Not a deal because Ikea has been doing this for ages, and also there are other places to recycle fluorescents and batteries for free. Belongs to forums.

  • bargaino on 15/09/2011 - 14:33

    A CFL contains just a few mg of mercury. Over its life, by saving power, it saves more than that going into the atmosphere from coal-burning power stations. As well as all the other pollutants. So don't feel too guilty.

    CFL disposal is such a trivial issue compared to the pollution from driving to Ikea, or energy waste in general.
    Or the waste caused by poor-quality furniture that will be in the bulk-rubbish in a few years.

    • FloatingPoint on 15/09/2011 - 14:53
      +12

      You can store the end-of-life CFL until your next trip to IKEA so you will lower the environment impact. Mercury is highly toxic so "just a few mg of mercury" still matter.

      • shiftyphil on 15/09/2011 - 16:00

        "just a few mg of mercury" still matter.

        Only if you snort it.

        • heatseeker424 on 15/09/2011 - 16:45
          +8

          If it leeches into the soil and enters the water table. You may very well be snorting it.

      • Cluster on 15/09/2011 - 17:56
        +5

        Most CFLs contain less than 5mg of mercury. At the end of a CFL's life much of the mercury can actually be bound up with the phosphor rather than as a free element. If you're ever seen a CFL go pink (I have) that's the CFL running out of free mercury.

        Mercury is a toxic substance but the much more toxic version of mercury is methyl mercury
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methyl_mercury

        I have been recycling my CFLs at IKEA for years, along with NiCd and NiMH batteries. I haven't actually bought a CFL or battery from IKEA however (all Edison screw, I have none in my house).

        If a CFL lasts a long time (some don't…) the mercury contained within is more than offset by the reduced power usage. Burning coal releases mercury directly. That only applies to places that burn coal of course. Adelaide gets most of its power from natural gas.

        It's a good idea to recycle CFLs anyway regardless of the arguments over mercury content.

    • jv on 15/09/2011 - 16:06
      -4

      it saves more than that going into the atmosphere from coal-burning power stations.

      i have solar panels, so that argument is irrelevant…

      i hate the colour of the light that comes out of fluorescent bulbs, and they are worse when dimmed…

      • bargaino on 15/09/2011 - 16:22
        +2

        Your solar panels put out a fixed amount, irrespective of what bulbs you use, so that argument is irrelevant.

        And I hate the sickly yellow colour than comes from incandescents :)
        Floro is much closer to natural daylight.

        • maybeamacy on 15/09/2011 - 16:27
          +10

          I planted a tree once. That offsets all my carbon, right?

        • Cluster on 15/09/2011 - 17:59
          +3

          Usually people complain about the clinically white colour from cool white CFLs rather than the warm white reminiscent of incandescent light bulbs. I must say I greatly prefer warm white CFLs and only purchase that type.

      • SBOB on 15/09/2011 - 19:53
        +2

        "i have solar panels, so that argument is irrelevant…"
        so the toxic byproduct of your solar panels went into another countries environment/water table…. i guess your guilt free then :)

    • gnarly on 15/09/2011 - 22:24

      It may only contain a few mg of mercury but that mercury bioaccumulates tin animal tissues and biomagnifies through the food chain.
      http://obrien-envproject.wikispaces.com/Allen-Rabideaux

  • jv on 15/09/2011 - 15:14
    -6

    Because of the mercury in fluorescent bulbs you should not put them in your normal rubbish bin

    That's the least of your problems… what happens to your family when these things break in your house !!!

    Big FAIL to the government for introducing these…

    • Cluster on 15/09/2011 - 18:11
      +5

      I have been using CFLs for almost 15 years in my house and am yet to break one. Maybe I've been lucky or just not clumsy.

      If a CFL is broken, Philips recommends opening the window for 20 to 30 minutes and gathering the broken pieces of glass into a sealable plastic bag while wearing disposable gloves.

      If you're concerned about mercury you may want to read about the mercury you're eating today:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_in_fish

      • bargaino on 15/09/2011 - 23:28

        If you're concerned about mercury you may want to read about the mercury you're eating today:

        But that is methyl mercury, very different, as somebody said above :)

  • geoffizl on 15/09/2011 - 15:29
    +2

    can you combine this with the "eat your discount" deal? http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/52269

    • jv on 15/09/2011 - 15:30
      +2

      just don't get the two mixed up !!!

      • geoffizl on 15/09/2011 - 15:33
        +9

        haha

        That moment when you realise you are eating light globes and putting meatballs in the bin!

        • bignelly on 15/09/2011 - 16:36
          +2

          perhaps that is where those meatball belong….in the bin.

          Jokes, i quite like em

  • dorothi_toto on 15/09/2011 - 16:22
    +1

    excellent idea! i've always wondered how to recycle batteries and hate the idea of binning them!

  • jelko on 15/09/2011 - 18:41
    -7

    No deal. I just use the garbage bin.

  • giggles on 15/09/2011 - 19:11
    +1

    I'm buying 5 of these and putting them on eBay. :)

    • flipstardirect on 15/09/2011 - 19:14

      Buying? I thought this was more of a 'giving' deal.

  • jimmyqi on 15/09/2011 - 19:22

    I've been to IKEA springvale last friday, I had dinner in its restaurant, and got a live moth in salad dish, and the kitchen manager who is named Chris Brown?!?!, he was very rude to us. Damn, ugly service bad food, OMG, never go again.

    • jelko on 15/09/2011 - 20:32
      +1

      I don't think you call eating at Ikea "dinner". And it's certainly not a "restaurant". It's more like a magnet for the poor and homeless. And OzBargainers.

      • ozAzn on 15/09/2011 - 21:51

        i never knew ikea did dinner….

        maybe its just rhodes ikea

      • tdw on 15/09/2011 - 22:16
        +1

        at my ikea, it's usually full of bogans, international students and families who let their kids run around the place screaming while fuelled by the unlimited refill soft drinks

  • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2011 - 19:38
    -3

    If it costs money to recycle, isnt it easy to chuck out?

    • Vladdo on 15/09/2011 - 20:01

      It only matters to people who care about the environment..

    • Cluster on 15/09/2011 - 20:15

      In some countries it's illegal to dispose of CFLs and NiCd batteries in household rubbish. Is anyone ever going to check? Probably not, but you wouldn't want to be made an example of.

      I believe from next year we'll all have to dispose of CRT monitors and TVs (remember them?) at specialist recycling centers as each contains several kilos of lead. Previously ditching these in a landfill was perfectly legal.

      • bargaino on 15/09/2011 - 23:34

        NiCd batteries are now banned in the EU.
        Quite sensible as we have NiMH and Li_Ion. But there is no substitute for mercury in CFLs.

    • anthony on 15/09/2011 - 20:15
      +2

      It costs more money to clean the the pollution (or create new things from scratch) caused by not recycling than it does to recycle.

  • Tenebrae on 15/09/2011 - 20:38
    -2

    Chucking them in the bin is free.

  • cytotoxic on 15/09/2011 - 21:02

    Good to know Ikea offers this. I searched for places to dispose of the globes in Sydney but enver found one despite looking on the web and phoning the local council

  • schwinn on 15/09/2011 - 21:10
    +1

    I'm actually more stoked about battery disposal. I have hunted high and low for proper places to bin my batteries but have never found one. Until today!

    • retiredfeline on 15/09/2011 - 21:13

      My local DSE collects batteries and mobiles, maybe you have a DSE nearby that does?

      • zephram on 17/09/2011 - 10:47
        +1

        Being Dick Smith, they probably shrink wrap them and put them back on the shelf

  • Explosions_Hurt on 15/09/2011 - 22:02
    -4

    Or you can simply wrap up your lightbulbs/batteries in a black plastic bag and put it in the red bin.

  • schwinn on 15/09/2011 - 22:08

    Haven't noticed any in DSE before. Will keep an eye out next time.

  • heatseeker424 on 15/09/2011 - 22:25
    +1

    I don't get what's with all the people chucking them in the household waste, especially when there's something as easy as this.

    • twinbag on 16/09/2011 - 02:27
      -1

      my waste bin is in the kitchen, IKEA is 10km away, I find walking to the kitchen easier.

      • the player on 16/09/2011 - 13:40

        very uncool, we all gotta look after mother nature u know…

  • thefunkygibbon on 15/09/2011 - 23:30
    +1

    For anyone in the Belmont area (Perth), there is a recycling station in Belmont forum for recycling batteries and compact fluros. Also they recycle plastic shopping bags.

  • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2011 - 10:59

    Very cool!!! Thanks for sharing this OP!

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