Missouri Study Focuses on White Goods

A 17-page report (with another 60 pages of appendixes) commissioned by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has identified problems and potential solutions relating to white goods recycling.

The study was conducted based on appliance recycling patterns in 2000, a year in which the study’s authors found depressed pricing in the scrap metals market was inhibiting white goods recycling. White goods were defined as stoves, ranges, ovens, refrigerators, washers, dryers, freezers, water heaters, dishwashers, trash compactors and air conditioners.

“Throughout the last century, white goods had a positive economic disposal value,” the report, authored by Dennis Siders, notes. “There was a small group of independent entrepreneurs that could make a meager living out of collecting appliances, possibly repairing some, and taking the remainder to the scrap yard for enough revenue to cover expenses.”

But the study found that the then-slumping scrap prices, combined with increased regulations covering refrigerants in particular, was causing this market-driven appliance recycling segment to disappear. “The transition from a [scrap] item that had value to a waste item that is now a liability is the key to the problem,” the report states.

Focus groups and interviews conducted for the report identified “providing better information on white goods recycling” and “encouraging district collection programs” as keys to maintaining a high appliance recycling rate in the state.

Suggested information for the state to make available included a database of scrap recyclers who accept appliances; a rundown of state and federal regulations concerning the handling of refrigerants, oil and capacitors; a list of contractors who will remove refrigerants and other hazardous parts.

Collection programs were suggested for solid waste and state DNR districts under the assumption that “it would be more cost-effective to collect white goods on a larger scale.”