The ‘reckless’ disposal of fridges
The fridge was crushed in the back of the machine along with other bulky household items, including metal gates, cookers, radiators and furniture after collection in South Dublin.
Fridges and freezers are hazardous waste under EU law and strict directives demand they are de-polluted in a designated facility before disposal. This requires careful removal of CFCgases, which damage the ozone layer, from both the cooling system and the insulation foam.
The disposal of fridges and freezers in a landfill is also illegal.
Sources within and outside Dublin City Council said bin lorries were often used to collect household junk and usually take all waste, including fridges and freezers.
“They often use bin lorries because they can collect around five times as much stuff as flat-bed trucks, because it compacts the rubbish. If there’s a lot of stuff to collect and they have to clear the streets, they use them,” said one council source. Many staff are known to be unhappy with the practice.
The council said the collection of fridges and freezers in a bin lorry was “a breach of procedure” and would be investigated.
Niall O’Keeffe of the council’s Waste Management Services said flat-bed lorries, which lift items onto a truck, are supposed to be used to collect bulky household rubbish.
But he said the risk of CFC gases being released from compacting fridges and freezers in a bin lorry was “minimal”.
Last week, council staff were caught collecting bulky items, including fridges and freezers, in a bin lorry. The lorry driver told a photographer she had no permission to take photographs of the truck and reversed into one corner of a cul-de-sac and proceeded to take the waste. When she continued to take pictures, the driver verbally abused her, before driving off leaving most of the waste uncollected.
After an hour, the lorry came back and picked up the rest of the waste, except for four other fridges and freezers. Shortly afterwards a flat-bed truck emerged to collect them.
Oisín Coghlan of Friends of the Earth, who saw most of what happened, said he was very concerned at how the council was disposing of the household waste.
“If you are compacting fridges and freezers with things like metal gates in a bin lorry, you are definitely running a real risk of damaging the fridge enough to release the CFCs.
“Moreover, it’s an avoidable risk if the council collected them, as they say themselves is their procedure, in a flat-bed truck.”
Mr Coghlan said he doubted the council’s statement that fridges and freezers compacted in a bin lorry were later separated at the transfer station.
“Given that the fridges have been compacted and squashed with all the other waste, it is hardly credible that the council is paying people to wade through a pit picking out the fridges from the dishwashers and tumble-dryers. At best, it is highly inefficient and more likely it is ineffective and irresponsible.”
A Department of Environment spokesman said they would be “disappointed” if a local authority collected fridges and freezers in a manner contrary to the “spirit” of EU directives.
“If Dublin City Council were taking fridges and putting them in bin lorries, obviously the department would be very unhappy with that,” he said.
“Obviously all local authorities should do their best to minimise any release of the gases. I would be surprised if they are compacting fridges in bin lorries.”
A spokeswoman for the Environmental Protection Agency said the EU regulations did not clearly state that collection of fridges or freezers in a bin lorry was contrary to the directives, but added it was not “optimal”.
She said if the EPA received a complaint that CFC gases were emitted during compacting it would investigate it.
Mr Coghlan also criticised the fact that other electrical items - such as cookers, washing machines, tumble dryers, televisions, videos etc - were being compacted.
“This comes just a week before new EU regulations mean householders are supposed to be able to bring any electrical good to a recycling centre where it has to be accepted for free. It’s a real blow to the council’s credibility as a responsible waste manager.”
