Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 7, 1991 TAG: 9104040223
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE MACEACHERN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Between June 1 and Sept. 30, 1991, residential customers who purchase new energy-efficient refrigerators will receive cash rebates ranging from $50 to $150.
Until Dec. 31, customers can receive rebates ranging from $125 to $400 for purchasing energy-efficient central air conditioners.
A $4 discount coupon to be applied toward the purchase of a low-flow showerhead is available at many retail outlets selling the water-conservation devices. The coupons are displayed near the product for immediate redemption at the time of purchase. Discount coupons are also being offered toward the purchase of furnace filters and water-heater blankets.
Additional rebates are being offered to encourage customers to buy energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs and plant shade trees.
PG&E also will inspect single-family homes and recommend ways to use energy more efficiently. For low-income single families, and those who live in mobile homes and multi-family dwellings, free weatherization and minor home repairs such as caulking, weatherstripping and insulating ceilings, are available.
Equally ambitious programs are being offered to commercial, industrial and agricultural customers.
Through these and other programs, PG&E hopes by the year 2000 to save enough electricity to meet the average needs of about 2.5 million Californians, offsetting the need to burn the equivalent of 68 million barrels of oil and reducing the emissions that cause air pollution by millions of tons.
For more information, contact the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, 77 Beale St., San Francisco, Calif. 94106; (415) 973-5930.
Refrigerator recycling
In a recent column, I cautioned against junking used refrigerators until the ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the freezer and insulation could be recycled. It appears that option is now available in at least four states.
Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc. has set up operations in Connecticut, Florida, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The centers recycle 14 different appliances: refrigerators, stoves, freezers, dishwashers, garbage disposals, trash compactors, washers, dryers, water heaters, furnaces, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, microwave ovens and air conditioners (both central and window units).
For about $25, the centers will collect the appliances and take them back to their shop. The capacitator, a small device that starts or runs the appliance, is removed. Any PCBs, a highly toxic coolant sometimes found in the oil, are also removed and later incinerated at a hazardous-waste treatment facility.
The CFCs, present in refrigerators, freezers, dehumidifiers and air conditioners, are drained, distilled and bottled for resale to appliance repair and service centers. What remains of the appliance is then taken to a metal shredder and ultimately made into a new product.
In addition to servicing consumers, the centers contract with local governments, waste haulers, appliance retailers and utility companies that hope to save energy by getting old and inefficient second refrigerators, freezers or air conditioners out of someone's basement.
Appliance recycling has many benefits. In addition to capturing CFCs and PCBs and saving energy, recycling appliances helps extend the capacity of shrinking landfills. Indeed, several states - Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida, Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Louisiana, Kansas and Missouri - have passed laws prohibiting the disposal of appliances in landfills. Minnesota is also considering legislation that would require retailers to take back the old appliance when delivering a new one to the consumer.
Beginning July 1, 1992, amendments recently passed to the Clean Air Act will prohibit CFC venting during appliance service, repair and disposal. For more information, write to Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc., 2601 Broadway Rd., N.E., Minneapolis, Minn. 55413.
Environmental glossary
Chlorinated Hydrocarbons. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), chlorinated hydrocarbons are a class of persistent, broad-spectrum insecticides that linger in the environment and accumulate in the food chain. Among them are DDT, aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor, chlordane, lindane, endrin, mirex, hexachloride and toxaphene. Many of these are known or suspected carcinogens. You may find them in the chemicals sprayed on lawns, gardens or crops.
Compost. The EPA defines compost as a mixture of garbage, degradable trash and soil formed when bacteria in the soil break down the garbage into organic fertilizer. At an individual level, compost is usually made from kitchen scraps and yard debris. Some communities are experimenting with projects to compost paper and cardboard, along with food waste. Send questions about the environment to Tips for Planet Earth, co Washington Post Writers Group, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071-9200. Questions of general interest will be answered in the column; individual answers cannot be provided.
Washington Post Writers Group
by CNB