Refrigerated Appliance Disposal

Disposal Requirements

The Federal Clean Air Act requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate appliances using certain types of refrigerants because they are destructive to the stratospheric ozone layer. These refrigerants are found in refrigerators, dehumidifiers, home air conditioners, drinking fountains, etc. Any person who takes the final step in disposing of a refrigerated appliance is required to recover any remaining refrigerant or to verify that the refrigerant was properly removed. That means that when you take a refrigerated appliance to a landfill, metal scrap dealer or other entity accepting old appliances, the company will either remove the refrigerant for a fee or require that you have it done before they will accept it. Failure to do so can result in severe fines from EPA. (Several years ago, EPA imposed a fine of over $50,000 here in Johnson County for failure to comply with the regulations.)

When the appliance is ready for disposal, the refrigerant is removed using a special recovery machine. Only properly reclaimed refrigerant may be reused in another appliance. Many of those chemicals are no longer made, although they can still be used. Substitutes have been developed which are more environmentally friendly. As a result, the price of these chemicals can be high. By ensuring that refrigerant is recovered and properly reclaimed, you help to keep the price lower and protect the environment as well.

Do not attempt to remove refrigerant or compressors yourself. Improperly handled refrigerant may result in physical harm. Only properly trained individuals using EPA-approved refrigerant recovery equipment should attempt to remove refrigerant from appliances. It is illegal for someone to intentionally break or cut the refrigeration lines.

Finding Someone to Remove Refrigerant

The Clean Air Act regulations require that anyone who removes the refrigerant must be qualified to do so or risk enforcement action. There are dozens of companies in our area certified by EPA to work on these types of appliances. If you need to dispose of a refrigerated appliance, you can search for a company on this site or you can contact an appliance dealer, an appliance service company, your regular trash hauler or a metal recycling company. Use the Yellow Pages and look under those headings for companies that might do the work. Call several of them for an estimate. Once the refrigerant has been removed, the appliance can then be disposed of in a landfill or taken to a metal scrap yard to recycle the metal.

Neither Johnson County nor EPA are engaged in the actual collection or the disposal of these appliances.

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