Local government and recyclers – refrigerant recovery

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Refrigerant recovery at end-of-life

Recycling and demolition operators must ensure controlled refrigerant is recovered before recycling or destroying appliances containing refrigerant.

Controlled refrigerants contain substances regulated by law and may be found in appliances such as:

  • fridges and freezers, especially older ones
  • air conditioners in buildings and vehicles
  • heat pumps, such as hot water heat pumps and clothes dryers.

Refrigerant recovery is the process of correctly removing refrigerant from equipment into a cylinder so it is not released into the atmosphere.

Even when appliances reach end-of‑life, refrigerant often remains in the system. If not recovered, these gases can escape.

Refrigerant recovery matters

Many refrigerants are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). HFCs trap much more heat than carbon dioxide (CO2) when released to the atmosphere. This makes HFCs powerful greenhouse gases.

Under the Montreal Protocol, Australia has committed to phasing down HFC use by 85% by 2036. This phasedown drives the:

  • use of more environmentally-friendly refrigerants
  • recovery of existing gases.

Some refrigerants, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), are ozone-depleting substances (ODS). Under the Montreal Protocol, Australia has largely phased out ODS. They are sometimes still found in older equipment. To protect our ozone layer, it is critical these refrigerants are not released to the atmosphere.

Your obligations

It is illegal to release controlled refrigerant into the air. Penalties of up to $660,000 per offence under the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 apply.

Refrigerant must be recovered before:

  • recycling or dismantling air conditioning equipment
  • recycling or disposal of fridges, freezers and heat pumps
  • demolishing buildings where systems containing refrigerant are present.

Certain refrigerants are flammable and require safe handling.

How to get licensed

To recycle, dismantle or destroy equipment that may contain refrigerant, you must have a refrigerant handling licence from the Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC).

This includes employees or contractors who work with this equipment:

  • at waste transfer stations
  • at scrap metal and e-waste recycling depots
  • removing air conditioning and refrigeration systems before demolition of a building.

Several licence types are available. If you only need to recover refrigerant, you can apply for a Restricted Refrigerant Recoverer Licence (RRRL).

To obtain an RRRL:

  1. Locate an ARC licensed assessor to assist with training and assessment. This means someone with a relevant full or restricted recovery licence
  2. Complete training and assessment
  3. Apply for the RRRL at www.arctick.org/RRRL.

Practical steps for local governments and recyclers

Don’t let refrigerant go to waste. Make lawful refrigerant recovery part of your waste strategy today.

Local governments

Local governments play a critical role by:

  • setting requirements through policies, permits, tenders and contracts
  • ensuring compliant handling at council ‑operated or owned facilities
  • educating residents and contractors about correct disposal pathways.

Recycling and demolition operators

You must:

  • ensure refrigerant is fully recovered before dismantling or processing
  • use or engage appropriately licensed personnel
  • maintain compliance with national ozone and greenhouse gas laws.

Practical actions you can take to improve refrigerant recovery include:

  • require operators to use ARC-licensed technicians (via tenders and contracts)
  • schedule pickups to prevent curb-side scavenging
  • train waste depot staff to recover refrigerant
  • share a mobile licensed refrigerant recovery service with other councils
  • build refrigerant and extinguishing agent recovery and licensing requirements into demolition application checklists.

Environmental benefits of refrigerant recovery

  • Reduces greenhouse gas emissions
  • Supports Australia’s (and State/local government) net zero commitments
  • Supports Australia’s HFC phasedown obligations.

Financial incentives of refrigerant recovery

A $3 per kg rebate is available for refrigerant returned to participating wholesalers. Recovered refrigerant can be destroyed or reclaimed for reuse or sale.

As Australia’s HFC phasedown progresses, HFC refrigerants are likely to increase in value. This may make it more profitable to recover them for reuse.

Scale of the issue

Many appliances that contain potent HFCs or CFCs are now reaching end of life. Recovering refrigerant is therefore just as important as ever.

Based on mandatory reporting from import licence holders and data from Cold Hard Facts 4:

  • Only 18% of refrigerant left in refrigeration and air conditioning equipment is currently recovered for destruction at end-of-life. Some is also reclaimed for reuse.
  • Appliances imported in 2025 will contain the equivalent of about 1.6 million tonnes of CO2 at end of life. This is the same as:
    • 333,000 homes powered for 1 year
    • 373,000 cars driving for 1 year
    • 4 gas-fired power plants for 1 year

Figure 1 shows the number of domestic air conditioners containing HFCs imported over the last 12 years. The refrigerant in newer systems is more environmentally friendly than in the past.

The average operating life for an air conditioner is 13.7 years. This suggests many of the units reaching end-of-life today contain more potent global warming gases.

The following data viewers are Power BI Desktop. You can press Shift + ? to show keyboard shortcuts. This includes accessible data tables.

Figure 1: Domestic air conditioner imports and their potential emissions

This chart shows the global warming potential of HFC equipment imported in 2025. Air conditioners had more global warming potential than all other equipment categories. Whilst domestic fridges are not within the top 4 import categories, this category still contributed 29,000 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent imported into Australia in 2025.

Figure 2: HFC equipment import categories by potential emissions

Data in both charts is based on mandatory reporting from import licence holders. Equivalent CO2 emission figures are calculated using the global warming potential figures released in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fourth Assessment Report.

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