Woodbury Coolest Recycling Drive collects dozens of appliances

Climate Smart Woodbury recently partnered with New Yorkers for Cool Refrigerant Management to conduct a “Coolest Recycling Drive.” Collection events were held on October 14, 17 and 20, and residents from surrounding communities were encouraged to drop off refrigerant-containing appliances that no longer worked at no charge. Residents responded by bringing a total of 59 appliances, including 26 air conditioners, 16 refrigerators, and seven dehumidifiers.

According to the organizers, the refrigerant originally in the collected appliances amounted to 38 pounds. They added, “If 80% of those refrigerants can be recovered (some refrigerants are always lost during transfer from appliance to refrigerant recovery tank), the result will be the prevention of more than 66 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent on a 20-year time frame. According to the EPA’s greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator, 66 metric tons of carbon dioxide is the expected emissions of driving 15 gasoline-powered vehicles for one year.”

Coolest Recycling Drive events are meant to provide a more convenient way for residents to offload their inoperable refrigerant-containing appliances. As the organizers noted: “Some towns in Orange County allow residents to leave these appliances by the curb, but only if the refrigerants have been removed – which could cost $150 to $200. All residents of Orange County can take their old appliances to any of the three county transfer stations, but those may be far away and they all charge $15 per appliance. This event not only helped save the environment, it also saved money for local citizens while making disposal more convenient.”

The organizers expressed thanks to LisaMarie Hintze, chair of Climate Smart Woodbury, and to all of the Climate Smart Woodbury volunteers. “We also thank Woodbury Mayor Andrew Giacomazza, Woodbury Village Trustees Susan Fries-Ciriello and Matthew Fabbro, as well as Rob Weyant, Woodbury Highway Department Superintendent, and Assemblymember Chris Eachus for their support of the Coolest Recycling Drive. We further thank JGS Recycling & Hauling, which is handling the refrigerant recovery from the appliances.”

Any organizations looking to partner with New Yorkers for Cool Refrigerant Management to hold a Coolest Recycling Drive may contact NY4Cool@gmail.com. For more information, visit ny4cool.org.