Why we only accept working fridges and freezers through our Appliance Retirement service.

You may already know that Efficiency Nova Scotia offers an Appliance Retirement (ARet) service. That means we’ll pick up and recycle your old, working fridge or freezer and send you a $50 cheque in the mail . (Yeah, it’s pretty great.)

We’re often asked why we only accept working fridges and freezers. Let us explain why.

Our goal as an organization is to reduce or offset energy consumption. If your fridge or freezer isn’t working, it’s not consuming any energy. Although we encourage you to recycle your non-working appliances in a responsible manner, we need the appliance to be working to help achieve our goal.

On the other hand, an older fridge or freezer that still works can consume a LOT of energy. Therefore, recycling it helps take an inefficient appliance off the energy grid and gets us one step closer to a greener Nova Scotia.

This is also one of the reasons ARet is limited to working fridges and freezers, and not other appliances like stoves, dishwashers or washers and dryers. Working fridges and freezers draw power constantly as they run 24/7. Other appliances only draw power when they’re being used, so the amount of energy saved can vary greatly from house hold to household.

We hope this helps clarify one of the most common questions we get about tour ARet service. If you have an old, working fridge or freezer, and meet ARet’s eligibility requirements, we encourage you to book your free pick-up!