TACKLING FRIDGES

摘要

Legislation to fix one problem often creates another. In the mid 1990s governments were quick to act on problems associated with ozone depletion. Following the signing of the Montreal Protocol, governments passed legislation to phase out, then outlaw, the manufacture and use of all ozone depleting substances (ODSs). But a new problem arose - a fridge mountain of considerable proportions. Since 2002 the treatment of waste fridges has been a specialist waste management process requiring a specific waste management licence. The ODSs found in the coolant and insulation foams are carefully extracted and collected so that nothing is released to the atmosphere, then incinerated.