Disposal of refrigerators: how to properly part with an unnecessary refrigeration unit

The desire to make your life as comfortable as possible has played a cruel joke on humanity: over the last century the world has simply “drowned” in a variety of household appliances. People are faced with the fact that the disposal of refrigerators, cookers and dishwashers is not properly thought out.

What to do when the old model breaks down and no longer performs its functions? There are several options for solving the problem, which we will introduce you to in this article. We describe in detail the options for the procedure for parting with used refrigeration equipment, and provide useful recommendations.

The relevance of recycling household appliances

In matters related to the disposal of old equipment, Russian residents lag behind Europeans, Americans and Japanese. Relatively recently, official documents have appeared regulating the sale, storage and recycling of used household units and appliances.

For example, in "Law on Environmental Protection" No. 7-FZ of the Russian Federation it talks about who and how should be responsible for the delivery and recycling of scrap equipment.

Some paragraphs are devoted to the responsibility of citizens and self-government bodies that do not comply with the requirements for the civilized disposal of broken equipment and electronics. By the way, the latest edition was released in January 2002 and has not changed since then.

The insufficient number of explanatory documents and the undeveloped state policy in the field of environmental protection have led to the fact that real difficulties have arisen with the “attachment” of household appliances

One of the reasons causing difficulties with the removal and removal of equipment concerns the large dimensions and heavy weight of household devices. In addition, bulky equipment takes up a lot of space, so simply throwing it in a landfill is prohibited.

Refrigerators also differ in that they contain refrigerant. Freon, which ensures a low temperature inside the device, is harmful to humans and the atmosphere. However, poisoning can only occur with a large and sudden release of gas. In practice, it quickly dissolves in the air and evaporates.

But phosgene, which is recognized as a toxic substance, is truly dangerous. It is formed at a temperature of +400 °C, therefore, it can only occur if production technologies or safety regulations at an industrial enterprise are violated.

When gas enters the atmosphere, it destroys the ozone layer.

Phosgene was released only from R-22 freon, which was already banned from production. Today, companies producing and refilling refrigerators use R-600a, R-134a, R407c, R410a and other series recognized as safe for user health

However, there is a certain procedure for pumping out the gas before further disposal of the equipment. It must be carried out by qualified services with a state license.It is prohibited to release refrigerant into the atmosphere.

Ways to attach a working refrigerator

Advertising placed on billboards and in the media, constantly flashing on television screensavers, will do their job “excellently” - thousands of home appliance users buy new models without waiting for the old ones to fail. What to do with an outdated but properly functioning refrigerator?

No. 1 - arrange a move to the dacha

The easiest way to update kitchen appliances is to take old devices to the country or to the village, and instead buy new, more functional and economical devices. Then the working refrigerator will not have to be disposed of in the literal sense of the word, it will simply change its “place of residence”.

Old equipment looks more profitable in a country setting. Rare models easily become part, and sometimes the center, of a vintage-style interior

To transport a large and heavy refrigerator, for example, two-chamber model or unit Side-by-side, you will need two pairs of hands and remarkable strength.

If there are no adult men in the house, and the neighbors also cannot boast of health, then along with a truck for transportation, you will have to hire loaders. There are no problems with transportation in cities: dozens, or even hundreds of companies offer their services.

The brigade is called in the following order:

• monitoring newspapers with advertisements and websites offering transportation of furniture and large equipment;
• choosing a company with good recommendations and reasonable prices;
• calling the company, clarifying the terms of the transaction, setting the exact time of transportation;
• conclusion of a contract.

At the appointed time, a team arrives and takes the equipment to the specified address.You can take this opportunity and transport old things or seedlings to the dacha along with the old refrigerator.

No. 2 - sell by ad

If there is no house in the village or dacha, then you can “attach” working equipment for commercial gain - in other words, sell it. It has long been no longer customary to post leaflets with handwritten texts on poles, so we recommend using modern methods: placing advertisements in newspapers, websites and TV.

If you attach a high-quality photo of the refrigerator to the text, the chances of a quick sale will increase. Potential buyers, having seen the product in person, are more likely to respond to the ad

The speed of sale also depends on the assigned price. Used equipment cannot be expensive, so try to immediately determine an adequate price. To do this, you can look through other people's ads and display the average figure. The lower it is, the sooner you will make a sale.

Try to interest the buyer, that is, create a useful and interesting ad. Of course, the photo will attract the future owner of the refrigerator first of all, but creative text can also help a lot.

List the advantages of the model and be sure to indicate the reason for the sale - the purchase of new equipment. The buyer should know that the reason for the sale was not the poor quality of the equipment, but a replacement

If you don’t have the desire or time to tinker with your ad, read others’ ones. Perhaps someone just needed an inexpensive used refrigerator for their country house or rented apartment.

If the proceeds do not matter, call the old equipment buyer.You will be offered symbolic money - 500-1000 rubles, but you won’t have to look for movers, since energetic workers will carry everything out and take it away on their own.

No. 3 - give it to good hands

Wealthy owners can afford to give a refrigerator to friends or just strangers.

Often neighbors or strangers find themselves in circumstances in which purchasing new equipment is impossible due to temporary financial problems. People who unexpectedly lost their jobs, or students renting an apartment next door, will be happy with such a gift.

The old model can be restored, and it will take its rightful place in the kitchen interior. The well-worn rare ZIL looks little different from the elite retro models of SMEG

Gratitude for the generous gift can be the independent transportation of the unit by the new owners of the equipment. They will make sure that the refrigerator is removed from the kitchen in a timely manner, and there will be free space for installation when the new equipment is delivered.

At transportation of a refrigeration machine, which is still planned to be used, transportation rules must be followed. They are described in detail in the article we recommend.

What to do with a non-working refrigerator?

Unfortunately, more often you have to change kitchen equipment not because of fashion trends, but because of a fatal breakdown that cannot be repaired.

If the housing is cracked or the compressor has already broken down several times, you should think about a new purchase. There are several opportunities to recycle old equipment, but not all of them are legal and safe.

Option #1 - take the equipment to the trash heap

Unenlightened owners act in the usual way - after dark they take the used refrigerator to the trash containers.In the best case, it will be immediately “picked up” by more enterprising citizens; in the worst case, it will stand there until a special truck servicing the area arrives.

According to the rules for maintaining the local area, it is prohibited to place large equipment, especially refrigerators with freon, in the yard. Typically this provision is contained in the bylaws adopted by the residents and agreed upon by the management company.

Large containers are designed for construction waste, old furniture and bulky household equipment, which are installed in some, but not all courtyards.

However, there is a small nuance - the freon content turns the refrigerator from ordinary “garbage” into a dangerous one. If you follow the law, then before sending the unit into a container, the freon must be pumped out, and this costs money.

Owners who simply leave the device on the street face a fine of 1000-2500 rubles, so it is better to spend this amount on calling a specialist, which, by the way, is also not always possible.

Container bunkers are available only to residents of megacities or at least regional cities. For example, in Moscow this issue has been resolved, and containers with a volume of 8.27 m³ or more are offered specifically for large-sized equipment. In small towns and villages, organized removal of household equipment is rare.

Option #2 - arrange for disposal to a landfill

What to do if you cannot take the refrigerator into the yard, and transportation to the landfill falls entirely on the shoulders of the former owner? You will have to look for a private company that collects and removes old household appliances and pay for the services according to the price list.

You should know that not all companies deal with large units, in particular refrigerators.Many refuse to export them precisely because of the freon content

When calling workers, be sure to check whether the organization has a license to transport or process refrigerators.

They may refuse for other reasons. It is not profitable for small companies to cooperate with citizens, so they only serve legal entities. If you are lucky, the unit will be picked up, loaded into a car and taken to the nearest landfill for about 2300-2500 rubles.

In small towns there is another difficulty - there are simply no companies involved in the removal of equipment. It is also problematic to dispose of other waste harmful to nature, for example, lamps containing mercury or batteries.

Option #3 - give the unit a “second” life

Most likely, it was precisely because of the impossibility of “melting” the refrigerator into a landfill in time that villagers and summer residents found more than a dozen ways to use it in another capacity.

Having lost its main function - to cool and freeze food - the equipment can easily turn into something useful. The case is especially attractive for homemade products - it is voluminous and strong. Here are some examples of successful uses for an old refrigerator. Perhaps you will have more interesting ideas.

The imagination of the owners of old units knows no limits, and comfortable houses for dogs, dehumidifiers, glaciers for the cellar, organizers for tools, smokehouses for fish and meat, and dryers for fruits and vegetables are born.

It should be remembered that freon not used for cooling must be pumped out using equipment used in refilling the refrigerator with refrigerant. You can't just release it into the air.

Option #4 - sell for scrap/for spare parts

Newspaper pages are full of advertisements about buying used equipment for spare parts. There are also scrap metal collection points where some parts can be taken. It would seem that you can disassemble the refrigerator and get at least a small benefit, but in practice everything happens differently.

To find out whether it is advisable to disassemble the unit, you should call the organization that advertised it. Some enterprises accept exclusively metal parts, others work only with legal entities.

In addition, handing over the equipment in parts is unprofitable, because during disassembly you will have to remove freon, and this is a paid procedure.

If the model is relatively modern, then some spare parts (compressor, sensors) can be accepted for a nominal fee by private craftsmen doing home repairs

Thus, the entire refrigerator can be accepted for disassembly only when it is of some value, that is, it can be repaired or disassembled into in-demand spare parts. But more often they buy only serviceable parts, and no one needs plastic.

Option #5 - profitable exchange for a coupon

An interesting solution is to buy a new model to replace the old one at a big discount. Promotions of this kind are sometimes carried out by large chain markets, for example, Eldorado. Where did this practice come from?

After careful calculations and analysis of statistical data, we learned that Russians use 2-3 times more electricity than citizens of other countries. This is due to the use of old, uneconomical technology, consuming electricity much more than the new generation of refrigeration units.

As a result of discussions of the problem that arose, it was decided to remove about 39 million refrigerators and freezers from the population by 2020 by exchanging them for energy-efficient models.

The exchange program was liked by both consumers and companies that sell large quantities of equipment. Thanks to it, the level of sales of brands subject to replacement has increased significantly

What does the consumer gain? At a minimum, he receives free removal of the old unit as a gift, and at maximum, a discount of up to 10% (rarely more) on a new one inverter model, which also works much quieter.No matter how you look at it, this is a useful and profitable opportunity to update your kitchen arsenal and dispose of bulky waste.

Features of professional recycling

If you are lucky and there is at least one enterprise in your city that collects and recycles refrigerators, the disposal procedure is as follows:

• calling the company to submit an application;
• discussion of payment terms, conclusion of an agreement;
• removal and transportation of equipment by enterprise employees;
• delivery to a warehouse or landfill, where freon is pumped out and subsequent disassembly;
• sorting of plastic, non-ferrous and other metals, electronics;
• pressing and sending waste to processing plants.

At dismantling and pressing plants, environmental standards are observed, so there is no environmental pollution. The recycling process is carried out under the supervision of regulatory authorities.

As you can see, such enterprises do not carry out a full-scale processing cycle - they are simply a transshipment base. But household appliances are disassembled, sorted, packaged and sent to plants, where recyclable materials are processed and put into re-production.

Solving the problem abroad

Recycling is an area in which we lag far behind foreign countries. If you calculate the percentage of waste recycling in Russia, the results are depressing.

Perhaps, compared to 2011, when the research was conducted, the situation has changed in a positive direction. However, the difference on such an item as waste disposal (landfills) is unlikely to be significantly reduced in 7 or even 10 years

The Japanese are distinguished by their responsible approach to the disposal of technical waste. They have developed an effective recycling program, and they also pay a separate tax.In Europe, schemes have been developed whereby the manufacturer is responsible for disposal - after its service life, he takes the refrigerator and sends it for recycling.

In developed countries, special events are provided, for example, the annual collection of large equipment. Old refrigerators are placed on the street, and municipal transport collects them and takes them to recycling plants.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

If you've ever had to get rid of an old refrigerator, you can imagine the process of removal and transportation. You can find out where the equipment goes next from the videos.

Video #1. What happens at the processing plant:

Video #2. How to get rid of bulky waste:

Video #3. How the free recycling program works:

Unfortunately, the problem of disposal has not been completely resolved. Old refrigerators continue to appear from time to time on sites with garbage containers, and freon, thanks to irresponsible users, enters the atmosphere and destroys the ozone layer.

To save nature and not harm yourself, you should properly dispose of household appliances using only legal means..

Would you like to tell us about how you disposed of your used refrigerator? Do you want to share the subtleties of the process that may be useful to site visitors? Please leave comments in the block below, ask questions about points that interest you, and post photos related to the topic of the article.