Borolabs is offering a solution to one of the latest EU Directives, which requires fridges and freezers to be disposed of properly to avoid releasing CFCs
January 2002 sees yet another set of regulations being introduced through Europe that puts even more of a burden on laboratories. EU Directive 2037/2000 states that ozone depleting substances, primarily CFCs, contained in refrigeration units will have to be recovered before destruction.
This will cause huge problems as there is currently no plant in the UK capable of recycling the appliances.
It is predicted that fly-tipping will become prevalent in the domestic marketplace but it is, of course, not an option for the laboratory industry.The estimated cost of disposing of old fridges and freezers from laboratories is likely to be upward of £600,000 per year.
Many suppliers of domestic refrigerators have now stopped collecting old cabinets.
However, Borolabs, which under its Labcold brand supplies over 1000 cabinets per year, has developed a solution for customers.
As an additional service, trained and experienced professionals at Borolabs will remove old appliances and deal with them under the new 'law'.
"Having supplied and serviced laboratory refrigeration equipment for 70 years, we have followed developments closely throughout this time." says Martin Slatford, director at Borolabs.
"This latest development is the most important since the realisation in the 1970s that the CFCs in refrigeration units were the major cause of ozone depletion.
We have planned this service to ensure that the new regulations do not inconvenience our customers."