What kind of environmental considerations are there when it comes to appliance removal in Toronto?

When it comes time for appliance removal in Toronto, consideration for the environment plays a large part in how appliances are decommissioned in the province.

Safe handling and recycling practices help to ensure that the least amount of negative impact possible is made on the environment.

What kind of appliances can be hauled away?

Among the various types of appliances that are picked up and then taken away by appliance removal companies like Vanrooyen Waste Solutions include air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes dryers, washing machines, water heaters and solar water heaters, household freezers and refrigerators, commercial refrigerators and freezers, televisions, microwave ovens, ranges, induction stoves, computers and peripherals like keyboards, monitors, and copiers or printers, and many other household appliances.

How the appliance is recycled depends to a great extent on how old the item is.

For example, older style refrigerators use Freon in the cooling system.

Freon is a gas that is extremely harmful when released into the environment.

There are now alternatives to Freon that are much more environmentally friendly and which do not contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer.

How You Are Helping the Environment

By recycling older appliances, there is a huge reduction in emissions of greenhouse gasses and other substances that are responsible for ozone depletion, and in energy consumption. 

By going “green” with appliances, the release of used oil, mercury, and PCBs are prevented, and there is much space saved in the landfills.

Even though much of the waste that finds its way into the dump is crushed and / or burned before being buried, metal does not decompose in the traditional sense.

Metal goes through a process of oxidization, more simply seen as rust.

Eventually the entire appliance would rust and turn into a pile of dust, but the process would take several centuries.

So for a refrigerator that has been buried in the landfill, three hundred years may go by before that amount of space is usable again.

At the rate that dumps and landfills are filling up, there is no time to wait for these types of items to naturally oxidize.

Government Programs

The Ontario Power Authority operates and funds the Fridge and Freezer Pickup program.

This is a government initiative in which household appliances are picked up by an appliance removal company and safely transported to a facility where they are recycled.

Roughly 95% of the material is metal or plastic.

These are then recycled into the manufacturing of new products.

New Life for Old Appliances

One of the materials most recycled the world over is steel.

There is a never-ending need for this metal in the construction of bridges, appliances, buildings, and machinery, among many others.

Using recycled steel to create new steel uses 60% less energy than if no recycled metal was available, reducing the impact to the environment even further.

This is where value is obtained from recycled materials, in the saving of electricity impact on the environment.

It is always preferable to have professional companies such as Vanrooyen Waste Solutions for appliance removal in Toronto when you have items that you wish to get rid of.

We have the proper training and certification in the safe techniques and methods to dispose of harmful ingredients such as oil, CFCs, and Freon.