Refrigerator Recycling Program Process Pickup process • Trained professionals will remove the appliances from your home (even from basements). • To assure units turned in for recycling will not be resold or reused, they will be disabled on the truck. • Appliances will be transported to the nearest JACO recycling center in Atlanta, GA.
Recycling process • Test for insulation Drill a 1-inch core sample to determine the type of insulation contained in the refrigerator. • Chemical and oil recycling Puncture cooling circuit to evacuate refrigerant (CFC-12 or HFC-134a) and refrigerant-contaminated compressor oils. Heat oils to distill refrigerant and ship refrigerant to qualified handler; oils can be recycled for use in other industrial equipment. • Capacitor removal Remove capacitors suspected of containing PCBs and ship them for destruction by an approved hazardous waste incinerator. • Refrigerator unit Cut appliance into multiple pieces so metal, plastic and foam can be separated. Ship separated plastics and metals to a local handler for resale in recycled commodities markets. Place foam in large plastic bags and seal to prevent escape of gasses.
• Polyurethane foam insulation Bagged polyurethane foam insulation is shipped to nearby waste-to-energy incinerators (an electricity generation facility) for complete and safe destruction. Each refrigerator contains approximately 10 lbs. of polyurethane foam and approximately 1 lb. of CFC-11, a foam blowing agent. In general, each bag incinerated will produce approximately 15 kilowatt-hours of electricity back to the grid. • Metal recycling Metal is sent to a metal recycler. • Plastic recycling Plastic is chipped and shipped to a recycling center. • Glass recycling Glass shelves are crushed and sent to a glass recycler for use as an aggregate in concrete. • Mercury-containing devices Mercury-containing switches and thermostats are removed and shipped to a qualified handler for recycling.
Refrigerator Recycling Program Facts Recycling program facts • Georgia Power Company has partnered with JACO Environmental to recycle refrigerators and freezers. • JACO will pick up, remove and recycle the appliances of Georgia Power Company’s residential customers. • Georgia Power Company’s customers will receive a $35 rebate. • Refrigerators or freezers must be 10 to 30 cubic feet in size. • All refrigerators and freezers must be empty and working at the time of pickup. • To schedule a free pickup, Georgia Power Company’s customers may call 1.866.446.9250, or visit georgiapower.com/refrigerator.
Energy and environmental facts • Research has shown that many spare refrigerators may use up to 4 times the energy of newer models. • A 20-year old refrigerator or freezer consumes up to 1,400 kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually. • A new refrigerator or freezer consumes between 400–500 kWh annually. • JACO recycles about 95 percent of the materials in each refrigerator or freezer and safely disposes of the toxins and chlorofluorocarbon gases from foam insulation.
• Recycling 25,000 refrigerators will result in 75,000 lbs. of aluminum that could yield nearly 2.1 million aluminum cans. • The avoidance of carbon dioxide emissions as a result of recycling 25,000 refrigerators is equal to removing 50,000 cars from the road for a year. • Recycling 25,000 refrigerators will result in the destruction of 250,000 lbs. of foam insulation rather than the material going into landfills. This would eliminate a landfill more than 10 ft. deep covering an entire football field.
Glossary of Terms CFC-11 This chlorofluorocarbon was used as a blowing agent for polyurethane foam insulation for refrigerators and freezers manufactured between 1965 and 1993.
CFC-12 Commonly known by its trade name Freon,® this chlorofluorocarbon was used as a refrigerant in the sealed cooling system for units manufactured before 1993.
HFC-134a Hydrofluorocarbon replaced CFC-12 as the refrigerant after 1993, in accordance with the U.S. schedule for phase-out under the guidelines of the Montreal Protocol.
HCFC-141b Hydrochlorofluorocarbon replaced CFC-11 as the blowing agent for polyurethane foam insulation for units manufactured after 1993.
PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls are hazardous materials sometimes found in capacitors used in large refrigerators and freezers manufactured before 1979, when PCBs were banned.
ABS Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene is a flexible molded plastic commonly used for interior linings, shelves and drawers of appliances.
HIPS High impact polystyrene is also used for the same purpose as ABS but is about 50 percent less expensive.
LEXAN® Lexan is a trade name for a clear or tinted plastic used for drawers in some refrigerators.
Why Recycle Refrigerators? 5 Oils and refrigerant Contains harmful CFC-12 or HFC-134a
7 Mercury containing devices
3 Refrigerator unit
2 Glass
4 Foam insulation
6
1 Metals and plastics
Compressor
May contain harmful PCBs
1 Metals and plastics – Remove interior metal and plastic
6 Compressor – Remove capacitor for recycling. Capacitors
2 Glass – Remove and crush glass shelving and ship to nearby
7 Mercury-containing devices – Remove mercury-containing
(crispers and shelves) and recycle. Approximately 150 lbs. of metal and 25 lbs. of plastic is recycled. glass recycler. On average, 3 lbs. of glass is contained in each refrigerator. Glass is typically used as aggregate material in concrete as it is tempered and cannot be mixed with typical container glass waste streams.
3 Refrigerator unit – Cut appliance into multiple pieces so metal, plastic and foam can be separated. Ship separated plastics and metals to a local handler for resale in recycled commodities markets. Place foam in large plastic bags and seal to prevent escape of gasses.
4 Polyurethane foam insulation – Bagged polyurethane foam
insulation is shipped to nearby waste-to-energy incinerators for complete and safe destruction. Each refrigerator contains approximately 10 lbs. of polyurethane foam and approximately 1 lb. of CFC-11.
5 Oils and refrigerant – Puncture cooling circuit to simultaneously evacuate refrigerant (CFC-12 or HFC-134a) and refrigerantcontaminated compressor oils. Heat oils to distill refrigerant. Refrigerant is shipped to qualified handler, while the oils can be recycled for use in other industrial equipment.
suspected of containing PCBs are shipped to qualified handler for proper destruction. switches and thermostats and ship to a qualified handler for recycling. Note: Approximately 95 percent of each unit is recycled.
Composition of an Average Refrigerator Component Quantity per Refrigerator (lbs.) Metal 150 Plastic 25 Glass 3 CFC-12 Refrigerant .5 (pre-1996) HFC-134a Refrigerant .25 (post-1996) CFC-11 Foam Blowing Agent 1 (pre-1996) HCFC-141b Foam Blowing Agent .8 (post-1996) Oil (which may be contaminated with refrigerant) .5 Mercury .002 PCBs Small quantities in the capacitor manufactured before 1980
What’s Made From a Recycled Refrigerator Examples of new products made from recycled refrigerators
plastic = computers
metal = nails
metal = rebar
metal = cans
plastic = mobile phones
glass = concrete mixture