A shortage of specialist recycling capacity has left more than 3,000 discarded fridges and freezers at a Norfolk storage site, The Guardian reported, while local councils incur handling costs.
The newspaper said 26 local authorities across the United Kingdom stopped accepting the appliances during the summer. Norfolk now takes them at seven of its 19 recycling centers, but the storage site at a former center in Little Hautbois is full, according to the report.
Kent County Council said fires and closures had reduced the number of plants able to process the appliances. Warwickshire County Council suspended acceptance at its recycling centers in August, citing both the processing shortage and a lack of suitable storage space.
Jon Hubbard, chair of the Local Government Association’s neighbourhoods committee, told The Guardian that councils are paying to collect, store and treat appliances while the backlog persists.
In a Sept. 25 parliamentary answer, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said producers remain responsible for clearing council sites through their compliance schemes. That responsibility has not prevented councils from incurring the costs Hubbard described.
A July Environment Agency statement says the regulator normally will not take enforcement action over certain storage requirements when operators meet specified conditions. Existing permit requirements and other legal duties remain in force.
The government said it expects additional recycling capacity in 2027 but gave no firm opening date.
