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UFH RE-cycling is celebrating a further milestone: its recycling facility has now treated one million cooling devices. At its dismantling centre in Kematen/Ypps in Lower Austria, the company continues – as always – to use exemplary technological methods and to achieve recycling rates that go far beyond the targets set by the Government.
Cooling devices must be dismantled professionally to help prevent climate change
Specialist know-how is needed to recycle cooling appliances as the mixtures of oil and refrigerants in the fridges etc are particularly hazardous: what, in the past, helps temperatures to be kept low so that food remains fresh can have the exact opposite effect on the climate in the future – if they are not recycled correctly. At their joint venture, UFH RE-cycling GmbH, REMONDIS and UFH Holding GmbH, a leading Austrian collection and recycling system for WEEE, have shown that they are more than capable of carrying out this task.
With its extensive recycling capacities, UFH RE-cycling is making a significant contribution to preventing climate change in Austria.
Using a three-shift system, UFH RE-cycling processes up to 1,200 discarded cooling appliances a day. Their high levels of expertise are reflected in each of the different stages of the treatment process – from suctioning off the refrigerant mixture, which is so damaging to our climate, and ensuring it is disposed of correctly, to recovering and separating the recyclable materials. The technology used at the facility is also setting the standards as no other plant has such a state-of-the-art system. Thanks to the gas-tight set-up used, CFC particles are unable to escape into the atmosphere. Moreover, the plant employs the so-called cryocondensation process which allows appliances that contain CFCs to be dismantled at the same time as appliances without CFCs. The facility can, therefore, react flexibly no matter what type of cooling device is delivered to its centre. The recycling rates at Kematen for materials such as aluminium, iron, copper and plastics currently lie at 95 percent way – above the obligatory Austrian rates of 80 percent.
The facility’s efforts to protect the climate are also impressive. Thanks to the professional dismantling processes used, emissions of CO2 equivalents are reduced by up to three tonnes for each old fridge containing CFCs that passes through its doors. Looking at the negative effect this would have on the climate, that is the equivalent of the CO2 emissions of a car that is driven for 20,000 kilometres a year.