Everything You Need To Know About Air Conditioning Recycling


When you need a new air conditioner, you cannot simply throw out the old one. In fact, there are very specific rules regarding its disposal. Here's what you need to know about air conditioning recycling to make sure that the process is done correctly.

What is air conditioning recycling?

Air conditioning recycling is the process of recovering the refrigerant and other materials from old, worn-out air conditioners so that they can be reused or disposed of properly. HVAC recycling also involves the recycling of the other components, like the metal housing, copper tubing, and more.

What is refrigerant?

Refrigerant is a substance that helps to cool air. It is used in air conditioners, refrigerators, and freezers. Many people mistakenly refer to this as Freon. However, Freon is the name of a particular brand of refrigerants. This is similar to calling all tissues by the name Kleenex.

Why does air conditioning refrigerant need to be recycled?

Refrigerant can be harmful to the environment if it is not disposed of properly. Additionally, inhaling refrigerant can cause serious health problems, including death.

The government takes air conditioning recycling and air conditioning refrigerant very seriously. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) forbids anyone—homeowner or HVAC repair person—from "knowingly venting refrigerants" into the air due to its known dangers.

How is air conditioning refrigerant recycled?

The first step in air conditioning recycling is to remove the refrigerant from the air conditioner. This is done with a special machine that pulls the refrigerant out of the air conditioner. Once the refrigerant is removed there are two options depending on whether the refrigerant is contaminated or not.

Non-contaminated refrigerant

Non-contaminated refrigerant is cleaned so that it can be recycled and reused. The cleaning process removes any impurities from the refrigerant. Once clean, the refrigerant is transported to a wholesaler for reuse.

Contaminated

If the refrigerant is contaminated, it cannot be reused. Instead, it is taken to a reclamation center where it is either "separate the refrigerant into the individual component refrigerants or incinerate it" per EPA requirements.

What are the benefits of air conditioning recycling?

Air conditioning recycling is important for many reasons. Recycling not only helps to conserve resources but not recycling has serious environmental repercussions.

Air conditioning recycling prevents harmful chemicals from being released into the environment. Homeowners and businesses must recycle their air conditioners in accordance with EPA guidelines. If you have any questions about air conditioning recycling, please contact a local HVAC recycling company for assistance. 

About Me

recycling to protect our earth

I was brought up in a home in which the protection of the environment was held to a high priority. The entire family did everything possible to ensure that we weren't using any more water and electricity than necessary and did what we could to use all recyclable materials for everything that we did. I took everything that I had learned during my youth and continued teaching my kids the same way of life. We only have one world to call home and if we don't do everything possible to protect it, one day, it may no longer be the place it needs to be for humans to thrive. This blog will show you all about recycling and taking the important measures of protecting our earth.

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