NYSEG and RG&E Pick Up 50,000th Refrigerator for Recycling Since 2011

Rochester, NY – NYSEG and RG&E, subsidiaries of Iberdrola USA, will mark a milestone somewhere in upstate New York this month as the 50,000th refrigerator or freezer is picked up for environmentally-responsible recycling through the companies’ recycling program that began in May 2011. 

“Energy is a valuable commodity and using it wisely has become a way of life for our customers,” said Mark S. Lynch, president and CEO of NYSEG and RG&E. “Older refrigerators and freezers use up to three times the energy of newer models. We commend our customers who have participated in the recycling program that takes these energy-wasting units off the grid.”

The recycling program pays customers $50 for an energy-wasting refrigerator or freezer still in working condition. Customers can also save up to $150 a year in electricity costs by removing energy-wasting units from their homes.

Stacked on top of one another, 50,000 refrigerators or freezers  would reach 52 miles high — just 10 miles shy of outer space — and weigh approximately 5,000 tons. But for RG&E and NYSEG customers, those 50,000 refrigerators and freezers represent annual electricity savings of tens of millions of kilowatt-hours.

Customers with NYSEG or RG&E electricity service can call 1.877.691.0021 toll-free to schedule a free pick-up of an old, working, energy-inefficient refrigerator or freezer picked at their home. They can also schedule a pick-up online at www.nyseg.com/energyefficiencyprograms/recycle/ (for NYSEG customers) and www.rge.com/energyefficiencyprograms/recycle/ (for RG&E customers).

Units bound for recycling are transported to an appliance recycling facility operated by JACO Environmental. JACO safely removes harmful materials from the old, inefficient units, reclaiming 95 percent of the materials for reuse in manufacturing new products. Even the foam insulation is safely incinerated to generate electricity.