Australia’s push towards a circular economy is overlooking a significant and avoidable source of climate emissions in the home, discarded fridges and air conditioners that are not properly recovered at the end of their life.
New research from Civic Futures Lab, produced in collaboration with Winning Group and supported by the NSW EPA Sustainability Partnerships program, finds that low recovery rates for cooling appliances are allowing harmful refrigerant gases to escape, undermining both emissions targets and circular economy goals.
The white paper, Tackling the Invisible Climate Risk, focuses on refrigeration and air conditioning equipment and the leakage of refrigerants when appliances reach end-of-life.
It notes that more than 62 million pieces of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment are installed across Australia, with demand growing due to population increases, commercial expansion and rising temperatures.
As this installed base grows, so does the volume of end-of-life equipment and the climate risk associated with poor recovery practices.
Cooling economy analysis cited in the report shows that around 3.4 million devices containing more than 2,500 tonnes of refrigerant reach end-of-life in Australia each year, including about 150 tonnes from domestic refrigerators and freezers.
This aligns with sector estimates that more than three million fridges and air conditioners are discarded annually, many still charged with refrigerant.
With only 30 to 40 per cent of refrigerant recovered from end-of-life domestic fridges and freezers, large volumes of high global warming potential gases are released into the atmosphere.
The white paper quantifies the climate impact of improper disposal at approximately 188,803 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions every year from discarded cooling appliances.
Each refrigeration or air conditioning unit that is responsibly recovered can prevent up to 235 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent from entering the atmosphere, making end-of-life management a high-impact emissions reduction opportunity.
Older fridges may also contain ozone-depleting substances and high global warming potential refrigerants, increasing the importance of controlled recovery and destruction.
The report frames improved stewardship of refrigerants and whole appliances as a circular economy opportunity as well as a climate imperative.
It cites analysis that enhancing circularity across the Australian economy could reduce national emissions by 165 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually by 2040, while also delivering substantial economic benefits.
In this context, scaling responsible recovery of cooling appliances is positioned as a practical lever to cut emissions and increase resource recovery.
Civic Futures Lab and Winning Group present a roadmap for a national appliance recovery system that integrates refrigerant capture within broader product stewardship and circular supply chains.
Recommendations include the development of a mandatory, co-regulated, whole-of-appliance product stewardship scheme in which refrigerant capture is a priority outcome alongside higher rates of material recovery and repair.
The paper proposes eco-modulated fees to encourage circular product design and in-home collection services to minimise refrigerant leakage during transport and dismantling.
The authors also call for stronger enforcement of existing refrigerant regulations, expanded e-waste programs, consistent national standards for refrigerant management and greater collaboration across manufacturers, retailers, recyclers and government agencies.
They argue that improved end-of-life practices for refrigeration and air conditioning equipment can support the NSW EPA Climate Change Policy and Action Plan 2023–26 and the NSW Circular Economy Policy Statement, with relevance and application across all Australian states and territories.
Implementing these recommendations promises to transform appliance end-of-life management from an overlooked emissions liability into a cornerstone of Australia’s net-zero and circular economy transition.
