RICHMOND, Va. -- Through its new Residential Appliance Recycling Program, Dominion Virginia Power is offering $50 to customers who recycle their old refrigerators and freezers. In addition to the $50 check, Dominion said it would pick up and recycle your old appliance -- for free.
"Refrigerator efficiency has improved dramatically in the past 20 years," said Ken Barker, vice president of Technical Solutions at Dominion. "Homeowners oftentimes don't realize how much their old refrigerators may be impacting their energy bills. We not only want to educate our customers on this lesser-known source of wasted energy, we want to help them do something about it."
To qualify for Dominion's appliance recycling program, refrigerators and freezers must:
- Range from 10 to 32 cubic feet in capacity.
- Be at least 10 years of age
- Be operational and empty at the time of pickup.
To participate, you can enroll online at www.dom.com/appliancerecycling or call 1-844-685-7462. Dominion's contractor, JACO Environmental, will call the customer to schedule a pickup date and time.
Following the pickup, the $50 check will be mailed to you. The appliance will be recycled and properly disposed of the refrigerant chemicals.
"The Environmental Protection Agency encourages consumers to shift to Energy Star appliances which are over 15 percent more energy efficient than appliances built according to 2009 regulations," a Dominion spokesman said. "Energy Star estimates that out of approximately 170 million refrigerators currently in use in the United States, more than 60 million are over 10 years old. When kept in a hot garage or exposed to the elements, these older refrigerators consume even more energy. To find out how much it costs to run your old refrigerator, visit Energy Star's Refrigerator Retirement Savings Calculator."
Customers are eligible to recycle two qualifying appliances per account over the life of the program.
