Kent asks residents to hold off disposing of old fridges and freezers for now

Got an old fridge gathering dust in the garage? Leave it there a bit longer if you can. A national shortage of facilities able to process waste fridges, freezers and other cooling appliances has hit critical levels across England, and Kent’s collection and disposal timescales are running longer than usual as a result.

Household Waste Recycling Centres across Kent remain open and will still take your appliances — the council isn’t telling residents to stop using them altogether. But KCC has had to put temporary storage arrangements in place to manage the backlog while the national system stays under strain. Jamie Henderson, KCC Cabinet Member for Environment, Coastal Regeneration and Public Health, says there’s no clear timeframe for when treatment capacity will return to normal.

This isn’t a Kent problem specifically. The shortage is hitting local authorities throughout England, caused by a sharp drop in the number of specialist processing sites — some taken out of operation after fires and other operational issues. These appliances are known in the trade as waste temperature exchange equipment, or WTEE. The name is unglamorous. The reason they need specialist handling is not: it’s the gases inside them.

KCC says it’s working with Defra, the Environment Agency, district and borough councils, and its contracted Producer Compliance Scheme to find a national solution. And the council has been explicit that any extra costs arising from the shortage shouldn’t land with Kent taxpayers.

Bulky waste collections and fly-tipping clearances may also be affected, though KCC says it’s managing those pressures alongside district and borough councils.

Before ditching a working appliance, residents are being encouraged to consider reuse, repair or donation first.

What happens next: KCC says it will keep working with the Government, regulators and industry partners while using temporary storage to keep local services ticking over.