1. When appropriate measures apply

What you must consider when you assess the appropriate measures for your site.

You must also follow the guidance for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

1.1 Relevant types of WTEE

This guidance applies to WTEE that contains volatile refrigerant gases or insulating foam blowing agents, including:

  • fridge and freezer appliances – domestic, commercial, and industrial units (for example, fridges, chest freezers, chilled display cabinets), including insulation panels and doors removed from appliances and cold rooms
  • air-conditioning appliances, excluding permanently installed fixtures in buildings and large industrial fixtures
  • heat pumps
  • heat pump tumble-dryers, including combined washer-dryers
  • de-humidifier appliances
  • appliances that dispense cold products (for example, water coolers, ice cream makers and ice cube dispensers)

As well as volatile refrigerant gases and blowing agents, WTEE may contain oil (in the cooling circuit and compressor) and other hazardous components, for example mercury switches and electrical capacitors.

The refrigerants and blowing agents in WTEE include:

  • chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
  • hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs)
  • hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
  • volatile hydrocarbons (VHCs), for example pentane, propane and butane
  • other refrigerants, for example ammonia
  • other blowing agents, for example carbon dioxide

The fluorinated substances (CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs) are referred to in this guidance as VFCs.

CFCs and HCFCs are ozone depleting substances and are subject to additional controls under The Ozone Depleting Substances Regulations 2015.

HFCs have a high global warming potential and are subject to additional controls under The Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations 2015.

Further guidance on managing fluorinated gases is available in:

VHCs are highly flammable, you must handle and store them safely (for example, by storing and handling them in accordance with relevant safety standards, such as those referred to in appropriate measure 17 of waste storage and handling appropriate measures).

The type and quantity of refrigerant and blowing agent contained in WTEE varies depending upon the age, size, type and condition of the appliance. WTEE manufactured before 1995 typically contain CFC and HCFC refrigerants and blowing agents. After 1995, these began to be replaced by HFC and VHC refrigerants and blowing agents.

You should be able to identify the type of refrigerant and blowing agent contained in WTEE from the rating plate on the appliance, if present and legible. This is usually found inside the refrigerator or freezer compartments. The blowing agent marking may also be found on the exterior of the back panel of the appliance or on the compressor label, if present and legible.

Unless you can positively identify the refrigerant and blowing agent you should assume the equipment contains VFC gases.

Vacuum insulation panels (VIP) have been developed as an alternative to polyurethane (PUR) foam panels, although it is likely that WTEE containing VIP may still contain some PUR foam. Unlike PUR panels, VIP do not contain a blowing agent and instead usually contain a rigid porous material (for example, consisting of silicon dioxide, silica or glass fibre), which could generate significant levels of dust when mechanically treated. Currently, cooling equipment containing VIP are rare in the WTEE waste stream. If WTEE containing VIP are received and accepted at a facility for treatment or transfer all relevant appropriate measures should be complied with.

1.2 Summary of common WTEE treatment processes

The refrigerants, insulating foam blowing agents and oils contained in WTEE must be removed during its treatment, along with any mercury switches, relevant capacitors (those containing polychlorinated biphenyls and those that are over 25mm in height or diameter and containing substances of concern) and external electrical cables.

The treatment of WTEE can typically be split into 2 stages.

Stage 1 (degassing)

This involves:

  • removing, separating and collecting refrigerant and oil from the cooling circuit of the appliance, including removing and capturing refrigerant from the oil in a contained environment
  • removing and draining compressors
  • removing components, for example, relevant capacitors, external electrical cables, mercury switches, drawers, glass, gas discharge lamps

WTEE received at a treatment facility is likely to have lost some of its original refrigerant charge (gas pressure) during its operational life, or potentially more significant quantities if the cooling circuit has been damaged. An appliance with no overpressure in the cooling circuit (equal to atmospheric pressure) can still contain significant quantities of refrigerant gas, as well as oil, and must be subject to stage 1 degassing.

Stage 2 (destruction)

This typically involves:

  • shredding or fragmenting the body (carcass) of the temperature exchange equipment, including dismantled insulation panels
  • separating and collecting the insulation foam, metal and plastic fractions
  • removing, capturing and collecting the blowing agent from the insulation foam in a contained atmosphere

To make sure that the blowing agent is removed and collected from the foam, treatment facilities may grind or mill the foam, and further compress or extrude the treated foam to produce pellets or briquettes.

The collected refrigerant and blowing agent gases are stored in gas-tight pressure vessels and sent for destruction (usually by high temperature incineration). Some facilities include an additional third process step to destroy or break down the collected gases on-site (for example, by thermal oxidation), which is included in this guidance under stage 2 treatment.

Some gases that are not VFCs (for example, recovered from commercial equipment and air-conditioning units), may be sent for processing and refinement at specialist gas treatment facilities and re-sold into the refrigeration industry.

Waste fractions and residues resulting from the treatment of WTEE, with examples of relevant List of Waste codes, include:

  • refrigerants and blowing agents (14 06 01* if containing fluorinated compounds or 14 06 03* if not containing any fluorinated compounds)
  • treated polyurethane insulation foam (19 10 06 or 19 12 10)
  • ferrous scrap metal, for example iron and steel (19 10 01 or 19 12 02)
  • non-ferrous scrap metal, for example aluminium and copper (19 10 02 or 19 12 03)
  • plastic, for example polystyrene and rubber (19 12 04)
  • glass (19 12 05)
  • mercury switches (16 02 15*)
  • compressor oil (13 02 08*)
  • spent activated carbon (06 13 02*)
  • plugs and cables (16 02 16 or 16 02 15*)
  • capacitors (16 02 16 or 16 02 15*)
  • compressors (16 02 16 or 16 02 15* if containing hazardous substances)

These codes and descriptions are likely to be appropriate for separate fractions of relevant wastes that contain minimal contamination (for example, they comply with the standards provided in this guidance for residual materials). You should consider and use alternative codes for other waste materials (including mixtures of materials), where appropriate.

The waste codes previously provided for treated polyurethane insultation foam assume that it has been fully treated to remove the VFC or VHC blowing agent. If this is not the case, the insulation foam should be classified and managed as hazardous waste.

Similarly, WTEE that has been through a stage 1 treatment process but not through a stage 2 treatment process should still be considered hazardous waste if it contains polyurethane insulation foam with a VFC or VHC blowing agent or other hazardous components.