End-of-Life Domestic Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Equipment in Australia



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1.1Background on the Project


The Department of the Environment (the ‘Department’) has commenced a project to explore the feasibility of a product stewardship approach for end-of-life domestic refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) equipment. The Department has engaged with stakeholders to consider the need, feasibility, and possible options for future product stewardship approaches. For a list of the stakeholders engaged and the method of engagement see Appendix A.

The Department has identified the primary stakeholders to be consulted during the feasibility study which included associations and industry groups representing:

RAC equipment manufacturers and retailers

RAC equipment servicing industry

Ozone depleting substances (ODS) and/or synthetic greenhouse gases (SGG) destruction and reclamation industry

E-waste recycling industry

Waste industry

Scrap metal and recycling industries

Non-government organisations

Building, construction and demolition industry

Trade Skills Councils

Federal, State and Territory and local Governments.

The aim of the feasibility study is to provide the Government with advice on the potential of a product stewardship approach for domestic RAC equipment with small refrigerant charges. The study will consider the recovery of:


  • Refrigerant gases

  • Metals

  • Plastics

  • Other materials for reuse or appropriate disposal such as glass, rubber, oil, mercury, lead, zinc, beryllium, cadmium, nickel and magnesium, polychlorinated biphenyls, hexavalent chromium, bromine, and antimony.

Product stewardship is an approach to managing the impacts of different products and materials. It acknowledges that those involved in producing, selling, using, and disposing of products have a shared responsibility to ensure that those products or materials are managed in a way that reduces their impact on the environment, human health and safety throughout their lifecycle.
The overall project will examine the feasibility of a product stewardship approach for domestic RAC equipment under the Product Stewardship Act 2011 (the Act). The costs and benefits to industry, Government, and the community of implementing an approach under the Act will be assessed. The cost and benefit of different approaches will be considered, such as a voluntary industry approach, co-regulatory model, or a regulatory model. To inform this process the Department has undertaken this study to map the disposal of domestic RAC equipment at end-of-life in Australia.

Australia currently has a national product stewardship scheme for management and disposal of refrigerant gases and unwanted ODS and SGGs. This scheme is run by Refrigerant Reclaim Australia and operates through the established refrigerant wholesaler network. The overall aim of the project is to look at the feasibility of a product stewardship approach to manage the whole product at end-of-life, including all materials such as any plastic and foam.


1.2Overview of domestic RAC equipment


Domestic RAC equipment is considered to include refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioners with small refrigerant charges that are designed primarily for use in domestic settings.

Domestic RAC equipment comprises:

Refrigerators (comprising upright refrigerators, bar refrigerators, and wine refrigerators)

Freezers (comprising chest freezers, upright freezers, and bar freezers)

Air conditioners (comprising portable home air conditioners, split air conditioners, window air conditioners, evaporative coolers, and ducted air conditioning systems).

Within these categories there are a range of manufacturers, models, and sizes.

Domestic RAC equipment can contain a range of materials including refrigerants which can be ODS, SGG, or alternative refrigerants such as ammonia, carbon dioxide, and hydrocarbons. It can also contain ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals (mercury, lead, zinc, beryllium, cadmium, nickel and magnesium), plastic, rubber, glass, oil, polychlorinated biphenyls, hexavalent chromium, bromine and antimony.

These materials can require specialist waste disposal or recycling methods to ensure sound management at end-of-life and may be subject to different control measures.


1.3Domestic RAC equipment as waste in Australia


In 2012 there was a stock of approximately 28 million units of domestic RAC equipment in Australia and approximately 1.3 million of these units reached end-of-life in 2012 (including light commercial and chiller-type air conditioners) (Expert Group, 2013). There is little published information about the disposal pathways for end-of-life domestic RAC equipment in Australia and treatment may differ across state and territory jurisdictions, as well as local government areas. End-of-life domestic RAC equipment may be disassembled or shredded before disposal or recycling. This reduces the overall volume of the waste equipment so that it can be more readily transported and enable valuable materials such as metals to be separated and sold.
Some end-of-life domestic RAC equipment, or components of the equipment, may be disposed of directly into landfills with little or no treatment. However, several Australian states have landfill bans in place on a range of waste items, such as whitegoods.

Ideally, the first treatment that should be applied to end-of-life domestic RAC equipment is the removal of the ODS or SGG refrigerant gas charge. Most domestic air conditioners and refrigerators use ODS and SGGs, such as hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), as the refrigerant, although older models which contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are still entering the waste stream.

In Australia it is an offence to deliberately emit an ODS or SGG, unless it is in accordance with the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Regulations 1995 (the Regulations).

Possible disposal pathways for end-of-life RAC equipment in Australia

The common understanding within industry is that ultimately domestic RAC equipment is recycled, sent to landfill, or illegally dumped; with the equipment handled or processed by a range of different groups along the supply chain including:

State, Territory, or Local Government run waste disposal centres (e.g. Waste Transfer Stations (WTS) and landfill operators)

Second hand dealers (such as resellers and charity groups)

Scrap metal merchants

Kerbside collection services – including schemes such as Fridge Buyback operating in New South Wales, which purchases old end-of-life refrigerators or bulky goods collection

Materials Recovery Facility (MRF): a specialised facility that receives, separates, and prepares recyclable materials for marketing to end-user manufacturers. A MRF may also be referred to as municipal/mixed recycling or recovery facility, and usually involves mechanical sorting and separation of materials.



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