Why fridge ‘mountain’ means ID must be shown at all North Northants Council household recycling centres
Residents wanting to use North Northants Council’s four household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) will have to take ID with them on their trip to the dump if they want to tip a fridge or freezer to prove they are local.
Capacity across the UK to deal with fridges and freezers has been reduced after the hottest summer on record caused many more appliances to fail, as well as a fire at a national facility causing a backlog.
Now capacity is being rationed with one item allowed per visit to centres in Corby, Kettering, Rushden and Wellingborough – and those trips are also limited with an address check.
To help ease the situation, The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) relaxed storage rules for local authorities including at a processing centre in Corby.
North Northants Council said: “We are temporarily limiting the number of fridges and freezers accepted at the HWRCs, because a fire at a national recycling facility has reduced disposal capacity.
“Only one domestic unit can be brought per visit to the recycling centre and ID will be checked to ensure it has come from a North Northamptonshire residence.
“If you have more than one fridge or freezer to dispose of, you are advised to use a licensed waste disposal company until normal service resumes. The council apologises for the inconvenience and appreciates your patience.”
In the summer, the UK Home Appliance Association called for Government to work together with business to create the policies needed to build resilient, long-term UK recycling capacity.
They warned the loss of specialist treatment capacity was placing pressure on collection systems, treatment operators, compliance schemes, local authorities and appliance producers.
As a result of the fridge-freezer glut, Enva, one of the UK's environmental services and resource recovery businesses, secured Environment Agency approval for up to 2,000 tonnes of temporary storage capacity for refrigeration equipment at its Corby site in Princewood Road.
The capacity is equivalent to around 50,000 domestic fridges with the additional temporary storage space, initially be available until early 2027.
Barry Phillips, managing director, e-Waste, Plastics & Glass at Enva, said: “Securing additional storage capacity at Corby is a practical response to current market conditions that helps ensure fridges continue moving through the recycling chain.”
With the ‘mountain’ of white goods growing, the Local Government Association called last month for ‘urgent action’ to put the cost on producers rather than councils.
Cllr Arooj Shah, chair of the LGA’s heighbourhoods committee, said: “The backlog of defunct white goods is getting bigger by the day – they’re at risk of becoming a mountain.
“It is not right that residents who are trying to do the right thing can’t take old or broken appliances to their local recycling centre due to failures elsewhere in the system.
“Councils are working hard to keep services running, but it is deeply unfair to expect them to pay to store growing stockpiles or pass disruption on to residents.
“Producers must urgently get collections back on track and cover every additional cost councils face. The Government must ensure they meet their responsibilities and put proper contingency arrangements in place.”