By 2030, ozone-depleting substances will be phased out globally. That is a great accomplishment, yet hardly anyone is looking at the chemicals still contained in old appliances. The BMU-financed GIZ project "ODS Bank Management" was one of the first projects worldwide to take on this challenge.
While the international community has agreed to regulate the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances by the Montreal Protocol and to phase-down hydrofluorocarbons with its Kigali Amendment, no agreements have been made regarding the destruction of the ODS and HFCs already produced and no financial mechanism is in place. In particular for developing countries, the collection, recycling and destruction of waste containing ODS and HFCs present challenges as they generally lack the appropriate political, regulatory framework, infrastructure and financial resources to set up a national system.