Trash talk. We don’t love it. Sometimes it even makes us cry. But if it helps keep the planet a little bit cleaner, we feel it’s necessary to have a chat about the dump and where not to ditch your appliances (hint: it’s the dump).
The Nasty Materials In Appliances
You think your back-of-the-fridge curdled milk is gross? You should see the stuff inside the casing of your refrigerators. Older units have an awful material called CFC that wrecks the ozone layer when left out in a trash pile. Even the insulating foam has chemicals that don’t do the Earth any favors.
And it’s not just fridges—some window AC units, dehumidifiers, microwaves, dryers, and washers have chemicals that mess with the air, water, and soil just the same. Here are some more:
- chlorine
- fluorine
- used oil
- polychlorinated biphenyls
- hydrochlorofluorocarbon
- mercury
- refrigerant
- beryllium
- cadmium
- chromium
- lead
Bleh. Makes us queasy just reading it.
The Damages It Does
When an appliance is brought to a landfill (and not recycled), it’ll sometimes be tossed in whole with all of those materials ready to eat away at the ozone.
If an appliance does pass through the hands of a landfill technician, they may remove some of the refrigerants and oils, but the rest is still often dumped on the top of the pile to start its thousand-year decomposition journey.
Now everything would be fine if the appliance was made of wood and plants, but the dangerous materials tend to decay into the water we drink and the air we breathe.
Smell that? That’s the scent of irresponsibility.
But If They Were Recycled
The fate of appliances doesn’t need to be so bleak. A lot of their materials can be recycled, like metals, plastics, and glass. Even used chemicals can be disposed of in a safe, not-into-a-giant-trash-pile kind of way.
Take, for example, when an appliance is dropped off at our shop. We remove hazardous chemicals, strip down each recyclable material, and safely dispose of the leftovers. Piece of cake.
Recycling these appliances does 3 important things:
1. Keeps our air and water clean
2. Keeps landfills from growing (and multiplying)
3. Saves and reuses materials for new appliances
Is it just us, or did it get a whole lot more hopeful in here?
Which Appliances Can Be Recycled?
Basically all of them! But here’s a big ol’ list in case you need some specifics:
- Dishwashers
- Hot water heaters
- Heat pumps
- Furnaces
- Garbage disposals
- Trash compactors
- Microwaves
- Ranges and stoves
- Air conditioners
- Dehumidifiers
- Refrigerators
- Freezers
- Clothes dryers
- Clothes washers
- Ovens
- Water softeners
So let’s make a deal: you bring your old appliance to us and we’ll make sure it stays out of the landfills and out of your life. That way we all win and Mama Earth is happy.
