About 3,000 fridges and freezers are being stored at Mayton Wood Recycling Centre near Coltishall amid a national shortage of specialist processing capacity. Norfolk County Council says the site is nearing capacity and accepts cooling appliances at only seven of its 19 centres.
The Local Government Association says closures of specialist facilities and incidents including fires have reduced national processing capacity, prompting some producer compliance schemes to delay or stop collections from council sites. Fridges and freezers contain fluorinated greenhouse gases and insulating foam that can release harmful gases if they are not processed properly.
The Environment Agency has allowed temporary storage of cooling equipment at unlicensed sites if conditions are met. Norfolk County Council says the arrangement cannot last long term and hopes the government will help Norfolk and other affected counties. Defra says it is pressing producers to fix the delays and limit disruption.
