Council thanks Warwickshire residents for their help during fridge and freezer disposal challenges
Warwickshire County Council has thanked residents across the county for their help during the fridge and freezer disposal challenges it continues to face.
Despite announcing earlier in September that residents can once again dispose of fridges and freezers at tips across the county, the council said it has not seen a notable influx of these appliances.
The backlog was due to a national shortage of capacity to recycle and process fridges, freezers and other cooling appliances.
Since the suspension, the council said it “made significant progress in clearing the backlog through concerted collection efforts”.
This included worked with the Environment Agency, which has agreed to relax specific storage requirements. This has allowed for the allocation of additional outside space increasing the overall capacity for storing fridges and freezers across the recycling centres.
Cllr Darren Cheshire, Warwickshire County Council's portfolio holder for environment, heritage and culture, said: “We would like to thank our residents for their cooperation over the past month.
“Following our announcement in early September, we have not seen a large or unmanageable increase in the fridges deposited at our recycling centres, and thankfully, fly-tipping has not been a significant issue either.
“Having worked closely with the Environment Agency to secure additional outside storage space and having made excellent progress on clearing the existing backlog, we are continuing to work towards a position where fridges can be accepted without restriction.
“In the interim, we are continuing to advise residents that while we are accepting fridges once again, if you are able to safely keep your old appliances in storage a little longer, please do so to help us manage capacity at our centres.”