NV ENERGY NEWS RELEASE
NV Energy customers who participate in the company’s Second Refrigerator Recycling Program can reduce their power bills, reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills and earn a $50 rebate.
“The goal of the program is to get older ‘energy hog’ refrigerators and freezers off the electric grid and to help customers reduce their energy costs,” said Doug Eddie, who manages the program.
To schedule free pick up of your old refrigerator, call 1-877-289-8260 or visit nvenergy.com to schedule a pick up time online. Machines that qualify must be in working condition and have a storage capacity of 10 cubic feet or greater.
Older model refrigerators often get moved into the garage where they are usually cooling only a few items, Eddie said, adding that they can use up to four times the amount of electricity required by new Energy Star models, increasing a household’s annual electric bill by as much as $140.
Since the start of the recycling effort in 2004, approximately 70,000 old refrigerators and freezers have been recycled statewide, Eddie said. Program partner JACO Environmental, the company that transports and “de-manufactures” the appliances, is able to recycle about 95 percent of the materials used to construct the old machines and to safely dispose of the toxins and chlorofluorocarbon gases from the foam insulation.
According JACO, each old refrigerator yields about 150 pounds of metal, 25 pounds of plastic and three pounds of glass. The foam insulation is ground up and often repurposed in the absorbent booms used to clean up oil spills.
