§ Mr. Nicholas BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if any assistance or encouragement is being given by his Department to the recycling of freezers so as to dispose of chlorofluorocarbons and provide for their replacement by safer chemicals.
§ Mr. ForthSystems are already well established for the recovery and recycling of CFCs used in industrial and commercial refrigerators. Recovery of the small amount of CFCs found in the coolants in domestic refrigerators is 113W relatively straightforward, and several companies and local authorities have introduced or are planning schemes for CFC recovery from this source. Extraction of CFCs in foam-based insulants is technically much more difficult. My right hon. Friend has commissioned a wide-ranging study into the recovery, recycling and destruction of CFCs and the Government will take its findings into account when considering whether any action is called for on this issue. The results of the study are expected early next year.
Much work is being done to produce substitutes for the range of CFCs currently in use. ICI has recently announced a £30 million plant for manufacturing an alternative to CFC12, used in most fridges. This substitute, known as HFA134A, is the first in a family of planned CFC replacements under development in the United Kingdom.