Worldwide furniture retailer IKEA announced Wednesday plans to stop the sale of alkaline batteries at all of its stores in lieu of rechargeable batteries, which the companies says is better for the environment.
The retailer estimates it sells 300 million non-rechargeable alkaline batteries per year. IKEA said that alkaline batteries will no longer be available at stores by October 2021.
According to IKEA, reusing a NiMH battery 50 times, the impact of NiMH batteries is equal to or even less than the impact of alkaline batteries. IKEA says its LADDA battery can be recharged up to 500 times.
IKEA added that if each rechargeable battery is reused 50 times, global waste could be reduced by as much as 5,000 tons on an annual basis.
“Consumers who need to frequently use batteries can benefit by replacing alkaline with rechargeable batteries. There are substantial savings to be made over time – on the environment as well as their wallets. IKEA globally sold about 300 million alkaline batteries last year, so we see great potential to inspire our customers to adopt new behaviors and use rechargeable batteries to their full potential,“ says Emelie Knoester, Business Area Manager at IKEA Range & Supply.