CFCs: A question of responsible disposal
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Why do we need consumer protection when recycling
waste refrigerators? At the start of the third millennium, recycling
and the recovery of secondary raw materials are among the most important
tasks we face. This challenge is one that all of us must meet, a challenge
that requires us to accept responsibility for our environment and
thus for the future of our children and our children’s children.
The issue of responsibility is particularly acute when disposing of
hazardous substances such as the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from waste
refrigerators and freezers. CFCs are the primary ‘ozone killers’
and threaten our planet’s vital ozone layer.
Chlorofluorocarbons also make a significant contribution to intensifying the greenhouse effect. Even though the progressive phase-out of CFC production has been agreed, the CFCs that have been produced to date still retain their full capacity to cause environmental damage. Every gram that is allowed to escape into the atmosphere will attack the ozone layer. In Germany alone, there are an estimated 47 million refrigerators containing around 23.5 billion grams of fully halogenated CFCs. Demanufacturing:
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