Dive Brief:
- New York State Electric and Gas Corporation and Rochester Gas & Electric partnered to collect and recycle 30,000 refrigerators and freezers in Ithaca, NY.
- Workers haul the units out of homes, disassemble them and deliver them to the JACO Environmental recycling facility in Syracuse, NY. The company removes hazardous substances from the refrigerators, leaving 95% of the remaining materials available for incorporation into new products.
- So far, the program has recovered 45 tons of glass, 1,875 tons of metal, 390 tons of foam and plastic, 5.5 tons of refrigerant and over 9 tons of oil.
Dive Insight:
The program gives $50 to consumers who trade in inefficient refrigerators.The program has been in existence since 2011. Consumers in Northeastern Pennsylvania has a similar program through the utility company, available to consumers who replace obsolete appliances. In 2008, the state created a law that encourages energy efficiency. As of 2013, 200,000 appliances were recycled through the program.
Vermont also implemented a statewide service to remove old refrigerators from homes while providing a $50 rebate to participants.