The Government has approved the drafting of regulations to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, to reduce emissions caused by potent greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products. This is an action in the second emissions reduction plan waste chapter.
Synthetic refrigerants are found in a range of products such as heat pumps, cold stores and vehicles. They can be potent greenhouse gases, with global warming potentials up to thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide.
Product stewardship is when a producer, brand owner, importer, retailer or consumer accepts responsibility for reducing a product’s environmental impact.
The Trust for the Destruction of Synthetic Refrigerants was formed in 1993 for the collection, storage and safe disposal of surplus synthetic refrigerant gases.
The Trust runs Cool-Safe, a product stewardship scheme that is accredited under the Waste Minimisation Act. The Cool-Safe scheme remains voluntary until regulations are in place.
Emissions from synthetic refrigerants are mostly due to leaks from poor equipment installation and management, or from improper disposal. A regulated product stewardship scheme will help significantly reduce these emissions.
Once the regulations come into effect, synthetic refrigerants and heating and cooling equipment containing synthetic refrigerants must be sold in accordance with the scheme.
The scheme will require the sector to report data to Cool-Safe so synthetic refrigerants can be tracked across their life cycle.
The sale and recovery of synthetic refrigerants and equipment will be restricted to those who meet industry recognised training standards. These training requirements are proposed to come into effect three years after the regulations are introduced.