7. Responsible Appliance Disposal
​
​
​
​
RAD stands for Responsible Appliance Disposal. If refrigerant chemicals (HFC's) escape from freezers, heat pumps, refrigerators, or air-conditioners the atmospheric damage is much worse than most people realize.
​
"Hydro-fluoro-carbons (HFCs)...have 1,000 to 9,000 times greater capacity to warm the atmosphere than carbon dioxide," although they dissipate much sooner than CO2.
​
​
"The HFCs in [air conditioner] units just amplify the problem...these emissions [may] increase to 7-19 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050."
How much do you pollute?
Measure here.
The amount of HFCs in your cooling unit is small, but the damage, if released, is not. Check out: epa.gov/rad
​
When it's time to replace your refrigerator, heat-pump, air conditioner, or freezer, do not dump the thing! The RAD people make it easy to do it right. To find a RAD program near you: find-rad-partner
"Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) found in refrigerators and air conditioners are...a major contributor to climate change."
​
Unfortunately, in Guatemala, they don't have such an expansive RAD program like we have here in the States:
​
"Sometimes...the team [there] arrives too late, finding only punctured tanks, corroded pipes and gases long [since] released."
