Government urged to tackle fridge problem

The national scheme put in place by the manufacturers, and regulated by the government, has ground to a halt, leaving councils across the country with hundreds of redundant fridges and freezers filling up their waste centres and no capacity to accept any more.

Hampshire County Council, like many county councils, has continued to accept these appliances at its waste centres for collection and disposal through the manufacturers’ scheme so householders are not inconvenienced.

Councillor Rob Humby, executive member for environment and transport, said: ‘I’m very disappointed to hear that the national issue of collecting, storing and treating fridges is now having an impact on residents in Hampshire. This problem has been building up for months with no effective measures being put in place. Therefore, we are pressing the government to tackle this issue as a matter of urgency.

‘It really cannot be fair on councils or council taxpayers to foot the bill for the failure of this government-regulated scheme.’