The funding was confirmed by the Welsh Assembly government this week, with environment minister Carwyn Jones describing waste fridges as a “significant issue” for councils.
” This extra money will be a great help towards the extra costs that proper fridge disposal creates for local authorities.“
– Carwyn Jones
Pledging Welsh Assembly support for councils, Mr Jones said: “The Assembly government recognises that the management of domestic fridges continues to be a significant issue for local authorities and I am pleased to be able to make 2.83 million of additional funding available for the safe disposal of these fridges.”
About 146,000 fridges are thrown away in Wales each year, and under European law these fridges must have ozone-depleting substances like CFCs removed when they are recycled.
Vital
Mr Jones said: “It is vital that old fridges are disposed of safely, and the EC Regulation ensures that ozone-depleting substances are not released from them. This extra money from the Assembly government will be a great help towards the extra costs that proper fridge disposal creates for local authorities.”
Local authorities pay around 8 per unit to have fridges collected for recycling in Wales. The Welsh Assembly said sufficient capacity now exists to process all units that arise in Wales.
Specialist fridge recycling facilities have been processing fridges in England and Wales since January 2002, with 10 plants in Wales and two in Wales including the 6 million Sims plant at Newport (see letsrecycle.com story) and Evans Logistics' plant in Caerphilly, which takes about 100,000 Welsh fridges a year (see letsrecycle.com story).
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