Meacher told that fridge delays have benefited UK

The claim comes from Paul Dumpleton, general manager of SITA Recycling, who has written to Environment Minister Michael Meacher saying the minister's actions have had a positive rather than negative effect. Mr Dumpleton reasons that councils are now benefiting from lower prices for fridge processing and that the fridge units are being treated properly.

In regard to a reduction in environmental damage, Mr Dumpleton said the implementation of the ODS regulations means, “that fridge units are now being treated properly via purpose built treatment facilities, either in the UK or on mainland Europe.

“Reputable companies are storing fridges in line with Environment Agency requirements and the overall environmental impact has been greatly reduced.”

He notes that before January 2002, fridges were being treated “in a limited way, with the standard treatment for fridges not reused in the community ending up being processed through the scrap metal trade”.

This meant, he said, that through treatments that involved fragmentation a release of harmful ozone gases and sometimes ammonia from the oil and foam that go to landfill would occur.

Longer lead times
His comments come in a detailed letter to Environment Minister Michael Meacher in which he says that delays in issuing guidance meant longer lead times had been incurred by local authorities, which, had resulted in a medium-term reduction in costs faced by local authorities and the public.

“The overall cost of fridge recycling in the UK is reducing in line with market forces and the initial delay in issuing guidance will actually in the medium term, reduce costs to local authorities and the public purse as a whole. If there had been a longer lead in time, local authorities through their tendering process would inevitably be locked into contracts that would be higher than the current cost of treatment,” stated Mr Dumpleton.

Rather than being seen as negative, government action “should be seen in the real context of environmental legislation benefiting the UK as a whole”.