The EPA’s voluntary program focuses on refrigeration appliance recycling best practices, including the recovery of foam in used refrigerators, and is consistent with GE’s ecomagination initiative to deploy solutions for energy and environmental challenges.
GE said that approximately nine million refrigerators are disposed of annually in the US and only a fraction has the insulating foam in their walls and doors recycled, while 90% of used refrigerators in the US are shredded for their metal, the remaining foam and other materials typically go to a landfill1.
GE also said during the shredding process, a substantial amount of GHG and ozone-depleting substance emissions are released into the atmosphere.
GE has signed an agreement, which is integral to its partnership on the EPA RAD program, with Appliance Recycling Centers of America (ARCA) to supply used-appliance volume from a six-state region to ARCA Advanced Processing’s regional recycling center in Pennsylvania.
