The Environmental Protection Agency says that there are about 10 million refrigerators and freezers thrown away every year in the United States. That makes sense considering that every home has at least one fridge and the restaurant and hospitality industry relies on them to run their businesses. 

But how the heck do you get rid of your refrigerator? True, some municipalities will take your refrigerator as part of their curbside pickup programs, but that leaves the problem of how to get your refrigerator or freezer to the curb in the first place. What if your refrigerator has been on the fritz for years and is collecting dust in the basement? 

Thousands of customers have already relied on Junk King to conveniently and safely remove their refrigerators and freezers. At Junk King we’re a full-service junk removal company, so you can rely on us to bring the right equipment and manpower to get a refrigerator weighing hundreds of pounds out of your home or workplace. 

Eco-friendly Refrigerator Middlesex Recycling 

The average lifespan for modern refrigerators is around 13 years, but if you’re reading this then your refrigerator might have already given out. Older refrigerators might cost more to repair or replace than it is worth to buy a new one over the long haul. Sometimes older refrigerators contain dangerous chemicals that need to be handled before recycling the valuable metals inside.

The Environmental Protection Agency calls refrigerators and freezers ‘durable goods’ partly because they are designed to last three years or more. Large appliances like refrigerators and smaller appliances like toasters both qualify. Various consumer electronics and lead-acid automotive batteries also qualify under this definition. Fortunately, we at Junk King take all of these and much more! Everything except for hazardous waste. 

The glass, metal, and plastic from your old fridge can likely be recycled, but you have to be careful about how you go about it because refrigerators can contain harmful chemicals. Older refrigerators can contain mercury and polychlorinated biphenyl sometimes called PCBs. Refrigerators also may contain toxic gases and chlorofluorocarbons that can do serious damage to the environment if not handled with extreme care. 

Energy Savings Via Refrigerator Recycling 

The good news is that 95% of materials from recycled refrigerators can be transferred into the manufacturing of new products, thus preventing more mining and harvesting of raw materials. You might want to give Junk King a call for removing your old refrigerator once you hear this next fact: old refrigerators use three times the energy of newer, more energy-efficient fridges. The latter is likely marked with the Energy Star logo. An older fridge is said to use 1500 kWh of energy, whereas newer units only require 500 kWh to run at full capacity. 

Another reason that recycling is an excellent idea is that the energy savings have a positive impact on the environment in addition to your wallet in the form of lower utility bills. Remember that about 10 million refrigerators are tossed every year in the United States. Among those 10 million units that might otherwise wind up in the landfill, if a mere 0.25 percent (25,000) are recycled then that’s the equivalent of removing the carbon dioxide from 50,000 vehicles. 

The Refrigerator Recycling Process 

There are a few refrigerants and liquid materials that need to be removed from your refrigerator unit before they can be properly recycled. A refrigerant known as R-22 is present in older refrigerators, whereas newer refrigerators contain a less harmful but still pernicious refrigerant known as R410A.

Refrigerants, Condenser Oil, and Heavy Metals 

The Environmental Protection Agency says R410A is less harmful to the environment than R-22, but each needs to be treated with respect to avoid environmental damage. Refrigerators also have a part called a compressor, which some have called the ‘heart’ of the fridge because it ‘circulates’ the refrigerant throughout the system to keep all of your food nice and cool. (Ironically, the compressor adds pressure and warmth to make the refrigerant hot.) The compressor allows the refrigerant to cool down, condense, and turn from gas to liquid. 

All of this is made possible thanks to your compressor, true, but that compressor, in turn, requires compressor oil. Compressor oil needs to be removed from your refrigerator before the recycling process can get underway. Likewise for any mercury in the refrigerator. Mercury is a heavy metal that was used predominately in refrigerators before the year 2000 or so; mercury, like lead, can contaminate local groundwater and soil if left in landfills, so it needs to be properly handled before recycling, too. 

Recyclable Metals, Glass, and Plastics 

In the same way that aluminum cans are coveted by recyclers because of their resistance to corrosion and ability to be repeatedly recycled without a loss in quality, the aluminum in your refrigerator is of the most prized components for recycling. That said, several metals, such as steel, and plastics in your old fridge can be recycled once the junk removal professionals at Junk King pick it up. 

Modern fridges typically have tubing made of copper, which is highly recyclable and a hot commodity of late. Both the aluminum and copper in your refrigerator are used partly because they provide a shot in the arm to your fridge’s overall efficiency and have unmatched thermal transferring. The upshot is lower utility bills, a fridge that lasts many more years, and food at just the right temperature! 

Certain components in your fridge are also made of plastic, which can be readily recyclable. You might have also noticed that the back of your refrigerator appears to have sheet metal. That’s exactly what it is, and it can be recycled, as well. A thick layer of sheet metal is usually employed by refrigerator manufacturers to encase the refrigerator’s cooling system and further increase efficiency. 

Ready to kickstart the process of recycling your old refrigerator with Middlesex recycling? If you’re ready for Middlesex recycling and for Junk King to stop by your home or workplace to pick up a refrigerator, consider booking an appointment online or calling 1-888-888-5865 (JUNK) today.