Need a new fridge? Here’s a few things to rethink before buying a new one, for starters dumping white goods to landfill is a waste, apart from that being illegal in some states of Australia, it’s important to know the environmental impact for every fridge or freezer that is illegally degassed equals the same effect as running your car for a 6 month period!
After 25 years of good service it was time to update and recycle our old fridge. The fridge came into our home as a 2nd hand unit, so we think it serviced us well. Before heading out to buy a new fridge, the time is right to rethink how you use your refrigerator.
Rethink Space
Refrigerators have changed in design, so it is important to measure the space you have available. Carefully measure the cavity (height x width x depth) purchasing the wrong size could be a very expensive and a painful mistake.
Capacity
Rethink the capacity required, if the the kids had left home years ago and the grandchildren don’t drop in as much, do you need the same capacity. When carrying out a kitchen declutter we often see big fridges storing a lot of out of date food, still being refrigerated, wasting energy, money and our environment is paying for it.
Young families with growing children and teenager’s that have a knack of “hoovering food” before your eyes, may need to move up in size. Alternatively de-clutter and reorganise your fridge may save yourself from upgrading to a larger fridge.
Energy Rating
This can be a mine field, so to make it easy we have included a few sites that we hope will make it quick and easy for you to find an energy efficient replacement.
Australia/New Zealand www.energyrating.gov.au/
United States https://www.energystar.gov/
How to Recycle White goods
At your point of sale, ask if they can recycle your old fridge and ask if there is a cost, you may incur a cost of $30-$50 to recycle, alternatively if your are feeling strong, visit your local council website to find where you can drop off your old fridge for recycling.
Climate change is affecting us all with these ozone depleting gases compounding global warming and other associated problems, through small checks and asking questions we can make the world of difference.
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