Allegheny Health Department Sponsors Appliance Recycling Program

The Allegheny County Health Department has launched a program offering free pickup and recycling of refrigerant-containing appliances which are no longer in use and need to be discarded in the western suburbs of the county.

 

The program is available to county residents only and includes refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, water coolers and other household appliances that contain refrigerants. No commercial appliances will be accepted.

 

The western suburbs include Bridgeville, Carnegie, Collier, Coraopolis, Crafton, Crescent, Findlay, Green Tree, Heidelberg, Ingram, Kennedy, McDonald, McKees Rocks, Moon, Neville, North Fayette, Oakdale, Pennsbury Village, Robinson, Rosslyn Farms, Scott, South Fayette, Stowe, and Thornburg.

 

“Removing refrigerants from these appliances and recycling them is a win-win-win for the economy, the environment and public health,” said County Health Director Dr. Bruce W. Dixon.  “Recycling such appliances not only cuts down on illegal dumping and saves valuable landfill space, but also prevents the release of refrigerant gases that deplete the ozone layer, which blocks the sun’s ultraviolet rays that increase the risk of skin cancer.”

 

The Appliance Warehouse and Parkway Heating and Air Conditioning are carrying out the program under contracts with the Health Department.

 

The program is funded by a $150,000 grant from the County Clean Air Fund and hopes to recycle at least 3,750 appliances this year. Earlier programs conducted in 2006 and 2007 were highly successful and exhausted the available funding, recycling 1,000 and 2,773 appliances respectively.

 

To arrange for curbside pickup of an appliance, residents countywide can call the Appliance Warehouse at 1-888-GO-FREON (1-888-463-7366) and those in the western suburbs are urged to call Parkway Heating and Air Conditioning at 412-279-6001.