Homeowner Tip: Receive $30 For Your Old, Second Fridge

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(NC)—At the beginning of September, BC Hydro re-launched its Power Smart Refrigerator Buy-Back Program, an initiative designed to conserve energy, reduce chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the environment, and allow their customers to reduce their electricity bill. For the next year, BC Hydro will pay its homeowner customers $30 to pick up that old energy guzzling second refrigerator and dispose of it, free-of-charge in an environmentally friendly manner. Refrigerators must be between 10-24 cubic feet and in working condition.

"This is an opportunity to reduce household energy consumption," says Elisha Moreno, spokesperson for Power Smart Communications. "Homeowners should call 604 881-HELP or 1-866-516-HELP outside the Lower Mainland and make 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, and the program runs until August ...
... 2004."

During the original Refrigerator Recovery Program (1990-1999), BC Hydro successfully collected and recycled as many as 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 in a year.

More Savings

Did you know: by removing one fridge from your household, the electricity savings are calculated to be 1124-kilowatt hours (kWh) per year and 12364-kWh over the life of the fridge? According to BC Hydro, that delivers a cost saving of $741.84 and with the current $30 incentive, the total savings due to recycling your fridge could be $771.84.

- News Canada
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