- Lighting
- TV and entertainment
-
Large appliances
- Cookers
- Dishwashers
- Freezers
-
Fridges
- Find fridges (freestanding)
- Find fridges (integrated)
- Find fridges (built in)
- Find fridges with freezer compartment (freestanding)
- Find fridges with freezer compartment (integrated)
- Find fridges with freezer compartment (built in)
- Find fridge freezers (freestanding)
- Find fridge freezers (integrated)
- Find fridge freezers (built in)
- Find energy consumption of your fridge
- Disposing of fridges
- Energy Saving Label
- Good advice
- Other kitchen appliances
- Ovens
- Tumble dryers
- Washing machines
- Energy labelling
- Frequently asked questions
- Stockists
- IT and home office
- Indoor environment
- Energy saving equipment
Scrap your old fridge
Once a fridge gets to a certain age, you’re doing the environment a favour by replacing it with a new energy efficient A+ or A++ labelled version. The lower environmental impact, as a result of reduced energy consumption, compensates for the environmental impact associated with manufacturing and scrapping several fridges.
Scrapping can benefit the environment
Denmark’s IPU (Instituttet for Produktudvikling) produces information which shows the environmental impact of the manufacture, usage and disposal of different products. ‘A fridge normally lasts 10-15 years, but if you replace it within 6-10 years then you have to manufacture and scrap more fridges than would otherwise be the case, and this needs be taken into account on the environmental balance sheet,’ explains civil engineer Ole Willum of IPU.
In environmental terms, there are no hard and fast calculations to tell you when exactly it pays to replace your old fridge. However, try the calculator or use a SparOmeter to find out whether your fridge has a disproportionately high consumption and is therefore ready to be replaced.
Waste contractors good at recycling
Many waste contractors in Denmark are good at scrapping your old fridge and freezer in an environmentally friendly way. One of these is the ‘Amagerforbrænding’ in Copenhagen, which receives discarded fridges and freezers from nearly 700,000 households in the Greater Copenhagen area.
Every year, the firm sends over 20,000 discarded fridges and freezers to a German company which ensures most of the materials are recycled. The company removes the refrigerant, oil and compressor from the cabinet. Glass shelves and separate plastic parts are also removed before the cabinets are crushed to pieces for sorting and recycling. Any Freon in the insulation is removed and recycled. All in all, 90% of the fridge is recycled.
When the time comes to dispose of your old fridge
Fridges and freezer contain hazardous chemicals so, when the time comes to dispose of your old fridge, please remember to take it to your nearest recycling centre.
Denmark’s IPU (Instituttet for Produktudvikling) produces information which shows the environmental impact of the manufacture, usage and disposal of different products. ‘A fridge normally lasts 10-15 years, but if you replace it within 6-10 years then you have to manufacture and scrap more fridges than would otherwise be the case, and this needs be taken into account on the environmental balance sheet,’ explains civil engineer Ole Willum of IPU.
In environmental terms, there are no hard and fast calculations to tell you when exactly it pays to replace your old fridge. However, try the calculator or use a SparOmeter to find out whether your fridge has a disproportionately high consumption and is therefore ready to be replaced.
Waste contractors good at recycling
Many waste contractors in Denmark are good at scrapping your old fridge and freezer in an environmentally friendly way. One of these is the ‘Amagerforbrænding’ in Copenhagen, which receives discarded fridges and freezers from nearly 700,000 households in the Greater Copenhagen area.
Every year, the firm sends over 20,000 discarded fridges and freezers to a German company which ensures most of the materials are recycled. The company removes the refrigerant, oil and compressor from the cabinet. Glass shelves and separate plastic parts are also removed before the cabinets are crushed to pieces for sorting and recycling. Any Freon in the insulation is removed and recycled. All in all, 90% of the fridge is recycled.
When the time comes to dispose of your old fridge
Fridges and freezer contain hazardous chemicals so, when the time comes to dispose of your old fridge, please remember to take it to your nearest recycling centre.
Page last updated 06.10.2008