Diverting Large Household Appliances from Manitoba Landfills

The Manitoba Ozone Protection Industry Association (MOPIA) will partner with the Town of Morris to study the feasibility of establishing a regional system for recycling and disposing of “white goods” (large electric domestic appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines). White goods require special processing at the end of their life cycles because they contain Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) in their refrigerant and foaming agents. If these ODS are exposed to the atmosphere, they can emit from 0.9 to 3.7 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per appliance. These largely recyclable appliances are currently being disposed of improperly because proper processing of white goods often is not feasible. MOPIA expects that this study will provide significant opportunities for waste diversion and greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction. The study will lead to exploring the possibility of establishing a regional processing facility in the Town of Morris. MOPIA will survey approximately 70 largely rural Manitoba communities to identify the number, location and manner in which white goods could be collected while quantifying shipping costs, potential waste diversion and GHG emission reductions. MOPIA will also conduct a carbon offset readiness analysis at the same time to evaluate the potential for offset credits and associated revenues from white goods recycling. Finally, MOPIA will evaluate scenarios for dealing with white goods provincially in the long term. It will identify a select number of municipalities for a subsequent pilot project, which will consist of the actual collection and third-party processing of white goods (as part of a separate scope of work). This project is in line with the Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan (2017), which outlines a target to recover 40% of end-of-life white goods by 2022. This would result in a projected reduction of 60,000 tonnes of CO2e. Innovative aspects: • This would be the first comprehensive analysis of how white goods are handled in Manitoba • Opportunity for significant emission reductions through the capturing of halocarbons found in foaming agents, whose greenhouse gas emissions are potentially 1,000 times greater than CO2 Replicability: • Demonstrates the degree of regional mobilization that is needed to move forward on specific waste stream diversion targets • Facilitates and accelerates the introduction of white goods recovery in smaller, remote rural communities (Project description based on original funding application)