Energy-smart Tip: Recycle Your Fridge - And Make Money

By Author: NC
Total Articles: 28
Comment this article

(NC)—Did you know that your refrigerator swallows up electricity at a rate of 1124-kilowatt hours (kWh) per year and up to 12364-kWh over its operational life? The household refrigerator is responsible for as much as $741.84 on your electricity bill during its lifetime and emits into the atmosphere untold chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), the chemicals suspected for their destructive impact on our planet's ozone layer.

So do you really need a second fridge? Consider this incentive:

BC Hydro is paying its homeowner customers $30 to pick up the old energy guzzling second refrigerator and dispose of it, free-of-charge, in an environmentally friendly manner. The offer is a re-launch of its Power Smart Refrigerator Buy-Back Program, an initiative that will run from September 2003 until August 2004.

"The original Refrigerator Recovery Program was launched in 1990," says Elisha Moreno, spokesperson for Power Smart Communications, "and throughout a nine-year period, BC Hydro successfully collected and recycled over 160,000 operating refrigerators. At the peak of this program, more than 42,000 ...
... fridges were collected yearly across the province, which meant 15,000 kilograms of CFCs were recovered and 15,000 tonnes of metal recycled.

In the spring of 2002, a short, three-month campaign in the communities of Courtenay-Comox and Quesnel, collected more than 500 fridges. Similarly, in the fall of that year, a six-month program on Vancouver Island collected just over 6,000 refrigerators. This time, the BC Hydro goal is to recover and recycle at least 25,000 refrigerators.

How To Participate:

Homeowners should call 604 881-HELP(4357) or 1-866-516-HELP(4357) outside the Lower Mainland and book an appointment to have their second operating fridge picked up by the contracted vendor in their area. Once the fridge is removed and the necessary paperwork is submitted, a $30 "buy-back" incentive will be mailed out, which takes approximately six to eight weeks. The buy-back is limited to two operating fridges per BC Hydro customer. Refrigerators must be between 10-24 cubic feet and in working condition.

- News Canada
About the author:

News Canada