More than a quarter of old fridges exported

Some 12-15 fridge recycling plants were built in Britain over the past two years after an EU Regulation on ozone-depleting substances required recyclers to remove ozone-depleting chemicals from insulating foams as well as cooling circuits.

By the end of 2002, the backlog of fridges began to disappear and over-capacity looked likely. But the continuing lack of operating standards may have put off some potential investors, while the level of enforcement is perceived to vary across the country (ENDS Report 346, pp 17-18 ).