WRG has responded to the current fridge recycling crisis by offering councils facilities for the safe collection and secure storage of the fridges. The company hopes that it will be able to remove some of the burden from local authorities following the Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) Regulation which came into force on January 1 and means that CFCs have to be recovered from fridge insulation foam before the appliances can be recycled.
WRG expects to handle more than 100,000 redundant refrigerators and freezers on behalf of its local authority customers in 2002 and said that while it does not expect to build a fridge recycling plant will help local authorities arrange how to dispose of fridges when the fridge recycling plants are up and running. WRG is now reviewing options for the final processing and recycling of the fridges on behalf of its customers.
Rob Chaddock, group commercial manager for WRG, said: “It is estimated that the UK produces some 2.5 million redundant refrigerators and freezers each year. We have acted quickly to ensure that our customers can get on top of this short-term crisis. Our approach has been to offer flexibility to both existing and new local authority customers. Some councils have asked us to provide only storage facilities, while others have asked for a wider package including collection, preparation and storage. This approach has also allowed us to provide a flexible pricing structure which gives local authorities value for money.
“Councils face an interesting dilemma of when to enter into processing contracts. We believe that the processing market may become more competitive than many people have anticipated, and that councils will be able to further improve their buying power by working with Waste Recycling.”
Subscribe for free