ENERGY STAR Provides Tools for Refrigerator and Freezer Recycling Campaign

Most of these inefficient units are for backup.

June 2009

The U.S. Department of Energy is continuing the ENERGY STAR® Make a Cool Change: Recycle Your Old Fridge (or Freezer) Campaign. This promotion encourages consumers to properly recycle their old fridges and freezers and, when needed, replace them with new ENERGY STAR-qualified models.

Why? Because refrigerators and freezers manufactured before 1993 cost more than double to operate, compared with new ENERGY STAR-qualified models; fridges and freezers from the 1970s cost four times more. There are more than 61 million inefficient units that are more than 10 years old in U.S. households, costing consumers almost $5 billion in energy every year. Moreover, of these 61 million units, nearly 30 million are second fridges or freezers.

State energy offices and other partners who would like to participate in the campaign can use a variety of tools available on the campaign Web site in the Partner Tools and Campaign Stories section. Such tools include savings fun facts, Web buttons and links, and sample articles. A complementary effort, focused on clothes washers, is also available. Contact Janet Fox, contractor to DOE, via e-mail or call her at 301-588-9387 for more information.