Australia hits 10,000 tonne refrigerant recovery milestone

AUSTRALIA: Refrigerant Reclaim Australia (RRA) reports that it has reached the milestone of recovering 10,000,000kg of synthetic refrigerants since its inception in 1993.

RRA was formed as a not-for-profit organisation to work nationally with industry to share the responsibility for, and costs of, recovering, reclaiming and destroying surplus and unwanted refrigerants.

Working with industry, wholesalers, and refrigerant distributors, RRA has overseen the collection of unwanted ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases in over 500 locations across Australia.

Under the product stewardship programme run by RRA to manage used and unwanted refrigerants at the end of their life, thousands of tonnes of CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs have been safely disposed of using Montreal Protocol-approved technologies.

Through a collective effort with the refrigeration industry, RRA has taken back and safely disposed of 10,000,000kg of refrigerant. These efforts have prevented the destruction of more than 10,000,000 tonnes of stratospheric ozone and the emission of more than 18,500,000 tonnes of CO2e.

Hailing the crucial role of the refrigeration industry in reducing the impact of climate change, RRA general manager Kylie Farrelley said: “The collective recovery efforts of licensed technicians throughout Australia must be commended, especially as technicians are often recovering refrigerant in volumes as small as a kilo at a time.

“Each kilo of refrigerant recovered from refrigerators, air conditioners, and heat pumps represents a significant step towards preventing harmful substances from entering our atmosphere. Every kilo counts, and together, our efforts amount to make a substantial impact.”