In November 2019, two degassing machines for a safer, more efficient and environmental friendlier waste management of old refrigerators were installed in Colombia.
The two degassing machines for the draining of oil and refrigerant from domestic refrigerators were donated to RED VERDE, which oversees the collection and management system of the main producers and importers of domestic refrigerators in Colombia. To guarantee the most efficient, safe and sustainable use of the equipment, two three-day sessions were carried out for the installation, commissioning and training in the operation of the equipment. In two allied waste management plants of RED VERDE, more than ten operators were trained by the equipment supplier, with the support of GIZ PROKLIMA, RED VERDE and the National Ozone Unit of Colombia (UTO).
These two machines are the first equipment of its kind to arrive in the country. Using these units, waste management companies can recover the refrigerant gas and oil contained in each refrigerator in a much more efficient and safe disassembly processes than before.
The donation of these equipment is made as part of the project “Management and destruction of substances that deplete the Ozone Layer existing in ODS banks”, of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Protection of Nature and Nuclear Safety (BMU), carried out by GIZ PROKLIMA and the UTO of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia.