Briefs: Fridge Recovery in Australia

A programme consisting in the free recovery of obsolete refrigerators has been running for some months in and around Sydney. The "beer fridge" is considered as much an Aussie institution as rotary clothes lines and barbecues, and according to the Australian Greenhouse Office, 3 million households own a second fridge. This is an environmental problem as well as an energy-saving one. It is claimed that these fridges release as much greenhouse gas as 2 million cars on the road. The programme only involves fridges over 10 years old, as ancient fridges can use twice as much energy as modern ones. An underused spare fridge can cost more than AUD 100 to run each year and can increase an electricity bill from 14-25%. The recycling per se includes recovering refrigerant fluid and metal recycling.