Letter from Biffa Waste Services Ltd to
the Rt Hon Michael Meacher, MP, Minister of State (environment),
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 17 July 2001
RE: DOMESTIC
AND INDUSTRIAL
FRIDGES AND
AIR CONDITIONING
EQUIPMENT
You may be familiar with the current situation
regarding a recent interpretation which implies that domestic
fridges containing CFCs will be subject to the Ozone Depleting
Regulations and are scheduled to come into force in the UK on
1 January 2002. This may appear as a relatively innocuous measure
but in reality it is estimated that around 200,000 fridges per
month will no longer be processed through car fragmentation plants
since this will become illicit. I have written to retailers, manufacturers,
relevant trade bodies and local authorities to elicit what their
position is likely to be with regard to the management and funding
of these regulations. Our conservative estimates cost this at
around £30 per fridge—£6 million per month, £72
million annually.
This parallels experience with abandoned cars
which are now costing local authorities £80 million to £100
million per year to recover on the basis that the supply chain
and the car scrap industry are unlikely to accept financial liability.
There is a corresponding landfill ban in so
far as landfill operators could be prosecuted for accepting these
materials which may emit over decades in much the same way that
methyl mercury may do from fluorescent lamps. Would it be possible
to convene a round-table discussion involving the Treasury, local
authorities, DEFRA, DTI and the Environment Agency so that we
can develop an integrated framework whereby all the actors are
aware of their correct parts and lines? We have an interest in
providing the necessary investment in logistics and reprocessing
infrastructure but we will not move forward unless there is an
integrated approach with regard to the enforcement, planning and
funding regime. I look forward to your observations.
cc: Paul Boateng MP
HM Treasury
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