Air conditioners are perhaps one of the most sought after appliances in every household with some homes keeping a unit in two or even more rooms. Depending on the type of unit, a good air conditioner should be able to last up to 15 years.
When the time comes that you need to dispose your air conditioner, bear in mind that throwing it away in the trash is not recommended. In fact, it is considered illegal to dispose an air conditioner as a regular trash.
Air conditioners and dehumidifiers are said to have refrigerants which are harmful to the environment. In terms of energy consumption, older units tend to use more compared to the newer models.
In order to reduce the demand for energy, it is therefore important to remove older units from the energy grid and dispose it properly. This way, harmful refrigerants as well as foam blowing agents are caught and are either recycled or permanently destroyed.
Every year, it is estimated that 9 million refrigerators and almost 1 million dehumidifiers are disposed. It is important to understand the several benefits brought by disposing air conditioning units properly.
First, it reduces energy consumption.
Second, it saves landfill space and energy by way of recycling as compared to keeping durable materials in a landfill (glass, plastics and metals).
Third, it prevents the release of used oil, mercury and PCBs (power control boards).
Lastly, it prevents ODS (ozone-depleting substances) and GHGs (greenhouse gases) emissions since their release from insulating foams and refrigerants are not allowed.
When a household appliance reaches the end of its service, it is required by federal law to recover all refrigerants prior to disposal or dismantling. It is also expected that PCBs, used oil and universal waste are properly managed and stored.
Other requirements state that materials such as PCBs, used oils, mercury and refrigerants should be removed from appliances and that durable appliance materials are recycled.
Disposing Your Air Conditioner
Since it is not biodegradable and can contain harmful refrigerants, air conditioning units should be properly disposed of. Even a professional air conditioning engineer will not attempt to leave a unit at the side of the road.
The best place where you can take your old air conditioning to is the local waste centre. Another way to get rid of your old air conditioning unit is through bulky waste collections.
What Happens After Disposal
Some municipalities may offer curbside pick-up programs that allow people to dispose their old refrigerated appliances by the curb. On the other hand, there are retailers that offer appliance pick-up services when there’s a new unit that is purchased and delivered.
Normally, municipalities and retailers would subcontract the said disposal to third parties. The latter can re-sell some of the old units either locally or abroad.
When a unit is not qualified for resale, it is usually sent to scrap metal companies, appliance recycling centres and other third parties. Here, valuable metals are salvaged for recycling while plastics, foams and glass are shredded and then brought to landfills.
For a hassle-free way to dispose your old air conditioner, just call our office at 1300Rubbish by dialling 1300 78 22 47. Our friendly customer service team will be more than glad to answer all your queries.