Freon is considered a problem for the ozone layer of the earth's atmosphere and is banned from illegal or improper release to the atmosphere through the Clean Air Act and other laws.  In order to comply with the federal and state laws as well as providing a place for individuals to dispose of old refrigerators and freezers, the landfill requires a completed certification statement be provided when disposing of appliances.  If the freon or ammonia has been removed, a technician’s certification statement must be on the appliance in order to be charged a lower handling fee.  In this case, you might consider taking the unit directly to a local recycler rather than paying the landfill a handling fee for non Freon appliances.

The landfill has contracted with a local firm to remove all freon and ammonia. These costs are included in the disposal fee which is higher than for non freon or ammonia based appliances.

If you plan on bringing your freon or ammonia based appliance(s) to the landfill, you must remove food or other items stored in the appliance or face additional charges and fees.  If you do not have a certified EPA technician's statement, you must complete the landfill's form, Freon Compliance Statement Form and pay the full cost which includes the fees for an EPA technical certification.  There are additional charges for food or other items removed from the appliance which are left for disposal at the landfill. 

Landfill personnel inspect the unit, assign a tracking inventory number and prepare it for the technician's machines.  After a technician has properly removed the Freon/ammonia and placed their certification on each treated unit, landfill personnel put the appliances onto a trailer to take off site to a local recycler.  A manifest similar to those used for hazardous waste disposal is prepared to the recycler listing each unit on the trailer.  The manifest is the landfill's certification to the recycler that any Freon has been properly removed by a certified technician and is ready for delivery.  A signed copy of the manifest is returned and retained in the files for review by environmental officials.

To find out more about other special wastes, go to Special Wastes . Or to find out about other materials that are banned from the landfill go to Banned Wastes - The No-No List .

All Other Appliances

Hot water heaters, stoves, washers, and dryers are placed directly into the metal pile. Landfill personnel sort, process and periodically ship the metals off site to a local recycler.