Much more often than in other cities, refrigerators left in the street are demolished in Amsterdam, releasing harmful refrigerant gas into the atmosphere. This is due to the way in which the municipality collects bulky waste, whereby the discarded refrigerators are placed along the road on fixed days.
The Organization for Producer Responsibility for E-waste Netherlands (OPEN) warns about this. “The gas released per refrigerator is equivalent to CO2 emissions comparable to driving 2,400 kilometers by car,” the foundation said. “This equates to 50 trips around the world by car every year.”
The compressor pots of the refrigerators are illegally removed to be sold as scrap. This occurs four times more often in Amsterdam than the national average, according to figures from OPEN. The foundation advocates stronger cooperation between large cities, especially because this is going much better in Rotterdam, for example.
No longer on fixed days
The municipality has announced that it is already working on arranging the collection of bulky waste differently. No longer on fixed days, but throughout the city by appointment. “White goods are also collected separately at the agreed time and place. We also want to encourage residents to bring more items to a municipal recycling point themselves instead of putting them on the street as waste. This contributes to an improvement of this unwanted situation.”
The municipality also points out that importers and manufacturers of electrical appliances are responsible for waste management. “For example, it is possible to give your old device or hand it in at the store when you buy a new device.”
Tags: Amsterdam collection discarded refrigerators unnecessary CO2 emissions
