Under European regulations, CFCs and other ozone depleting substances must be removed safely from fridges and freezers before they are disposed of. Although there are several fridge treatment plants in the UK, there are none in Ireland.
The two administrations decided to let a joint contract for fridge treatment and disposal in order to take advantage of economies of scale (see letsrecycle.com story).
Announcing the winner of the contract, environment minister for the Republic of Ireland Pat the Cope Gallagher TD said the contract as represents a “tangible dividend for north/south co-operation”.
Under the contract, St Helens-based M Baker will process approximately 115,000 Irish waste fridges until the producer responsibility legislation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive comes into force on August 13, 2005.
Transport to the plant in St Helens from Northern Ireland will be provided by David Johnston Environmental Services of Comber County Down and from the south it will be KMK Metal Recycling of Tullamore.
Angela Smith MP, Northern Ireland Minister for the Environment, added: “Managing our waste more sustainably is a major challenge for all of us and this is an excellent example of utilising innovative technology to remove the environmentally harmful substances and recycling the remainder of our waste fridges and freezers rather than consigning them to landfill sites.”
Funding
Funding for the management of fridges by local authorities will come from Northern Ireland's Waste Management Grant Scheme and the Republic's Environment Fund.
Fifty-seven out of 60 local authorities on the island have indicated they will participate in the scheme and the governments are awaiting responses from the remaining three. In order to qualify for funding, local authorities are required to offer free access to civic amenity sites for householders to dispose of their fridges and freezers.
Julie-Ann Adams, project manager for M Baker Recycling, said: “We are committed to providing district councils and local authorities across Ireland with a motivated, highly professional service, ensuring that this contract is the success it should be.”
Included in the service is a tagging service for invoicing and auditing purposes, which it is hoped will provide useful information on logistics and reporting systems for the implementation of the WEEE Directive this summer and when producer responsibility starts in August 2005.
Under the new tagging system, data can be collected regarding the CA site the fridge was left at, the driver who picked it up and delivered it, the dates of collection, delivery and destruction as well as the manufacturer of the fridge.
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