Clear out begins of 6,000 old fridges and freezers

Saturday 06 May 2023

A stockpile of more than 6,000 fridges and freezes containing environmentally harmful gasses, that has been building at Longue Hougue, can finally be shipped out.

International regulations had prevented them being exported for processing since 2017.

An update to legislation is now in place to allow that to happen and shipments began in March.

“We anticipate that the backlog will be cleared by the end of the summer,” said Guernsey Waste Operations Manager Sarah Robinson.  

“Once the stockpile has been exported regular shipments will continue to take place to continue to manage incoming items.”

Currently the aim is to export at least two trailer loads per week.

The fridges and other appliances are de-gassed, have the compressors and other parts of the cooling system removed and then the rest goes through a process to separate the metal outer shell for recycling from the foam on the inside, which will go for disposal. 

Pictured: Guernsey Waste Operations Manager Sarah Robinson.

Appliances which do not contain the regulated gases, predominately newer units, are processed on-island.

The Montreal protocol is the international agreement for safely handling that regulates the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances.

It had prevented Guernsey exporting fridges while they still contained these refrigerant gases. 

Brexit and Covid caused an increase in legislative work locally and in the UK which delayed the issue being resolved, Guernsey Waste has said.