Farewell Refrigerator

Those interested in taking advantage of a rebate program for old refrigerators need to act by May 31. See below.

A crew came to take our old refrigerator away. It had started to run more than usual and accumulated frost in the freezer portion. A new seal for the doors might have done the trick, but the problem may have gone deeper. We bought a new refrigerator that, thanks to government regulations that prompted manufacturers to improve designs, uses half as much energy as our old model.

We also will be paid $50 for having the old refrigerator taken away by this service. This incentive, financed through New Jersey's Clean Energy Program, appears to end May 31, 2013.

The crew told me that the used refrigerators are taken to East Brunswick, where the freon is removed and the rest of the refrigerator recycled. Freon is implicated in the destruction of the protective ozone layer high in the atmosphere. Thus the incentive, given that it's in the public interest to make sure the Freon in refrigerators is safely removed and contained.

A previous post gives a brief history of how regulation has stimulated improved refrigerator design over the past three decades while also bringing down their cost, saving homeowners a great deal of money.


Here is some research I did on the rebate program a few years back:
 The NJ Board of Public Utilities just started the program, which works something like the federal cash-for-clunkers program and is designed to get inefficient older refrigerators out of people's houses and safely recycled.

(Update: There are two stipulations. The frig must still be working, and the inside volume must be between 10 and 30 cubic feet. Wait time, when I called, was running about a week, and someone has to be around when they pick it up. After it's hauled away, the motor and compressor will be taken out, the freon safely removed, and all metals and plastics will be recycled. The program is almost nationwide at this point.)

More information at:
http://www.njcleanenergy.com/residential/programs/refrigerator-freezer-recycling-program. "Call 877-270-3520 to schedule a free pick up of your old refrigerator or freezer."