Working with Wincanton, the logistics firm, Comet re-introduced its fridge take-back on delivery of a new unit in May 2003 for a charge to the customer of 15 to cover costs (see letsrecycle.com story).
But now, with support of local authorities and DEFRA, Comet is trialling a take-back scheme that will see no cost paid by householders. The three-month pilot will be based in Eastleigh, Hampshire, from Comet's service platform which covers stores in 14 local authorities in its south region.
When it is fully implemented, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive will make retailers responsible for the separate collection of electrical equipment on a like for like basis for what they sell. Comet's trial will assess how to provision fridge take-back once the funding regulations come into force, the company said.
Tom Barry, deputy managing director for operations at Comet, said: “We are delighted to be the first electrical retailer to respond to feedback from customers and provide a free refrigeration take-back service – a service they have been asking for for some time. However, this would no have been possible without the excellent relationships we have developed with DEFRA, local authorities and the other scheme partners.”
Refurbishment
As well as Wincanton, Comet will be working with community re-use organisations Remploy and Renew, who will refurbish some of the fridges for re-sale to low-income households. These organisations also offer training to long-term unemployed and people with disabilities in white goods refurbishment and engineering.
The trial expects to collect over 2000 fridges over three months, of which around 15% will be taken for refurbishment by Remploy. Of the remaining fridges some are to be taken initially to Wincanton's fridge processing plant in Billingham in the North East. One of the aims of the scheme is to test the feasibility of transporting the fridges such long distances.
Fridge take-back was originally halted last year by many of the larger electrical retailers when European legislation came into force regarding the disposal of fridges and freezers. The Regulation on Ozone Depleting Substance (ODS) requires the controlled removal of the CFCs and HCFCs from fridges and freezers before disposal. At the time there was little provision in the UK for such treatment for end of life fridges so electrical retailers, like Comet, stopped their free take-back schemes for fridges but continued to collected other white goods.
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