How it works

What is our recycling programme?

Our mission is to provide solutions that deliver what building occupants need, while reducing the environmental impacts as much as possible. We have developed our HVAC end of life cycle service to help mitigate the environmental impact of old HVAC equipment by ensuring that defunct air conditioning units are dismantled in a compliant manner, in line with current legislation, and that the materials are reclaimed for use elsewhere, minimising the strain on natural resources.

WHAT IS OUR RECYCLING PROGRAMME

How are old units collected?

Mitsubishi Electric have partnered with Enva to develop a recycling programme for end of life air conditioning and heat pumps. This will sit alongside their existing E Waste Recycling and Reuse Services. This service will give you a certificate of safe disposal of your old equipment. If you are a member of our Partner Programme, you can use your Relationship Development Fund (RDF) to pay for the collection*.

To arrange a commercial collection contact Enva on 0844 736 0071 or email Customer.service@environcom.co.uk stating that you are a Mitsubishi Electric customer. Please note that this service is not applicable to residential sites.

In the event of any issues with the collection, or if you have any special requirements, please contact Alison Mitchell on 0844 736 0071 or email Alison.mitchell@Enva.co.uk

*For non-Partner Programme members there is a fee for collection. Contact Enva for details.
HOW ARE OLD UNITS COLLECTED

What can be recycled?

We are all responsible for using and re-using our finite resources. Recovering and recycling our used materials is more important than ever. It is estimated that 98% of materials from old HVAC equipment can be recycled. What happens to the different materials? 80% of recycled plastics are of a quality that can be used to manufacture new products, such as automotive parts, or in building and civil engineering materials. The remaining 20% are used for thermal recycling.

Mitsubishi Electric air conditioners use about 10% recycled plastic, and their domestic refrigerators use 17 to 21%. Other materials recovered such as iron, copper and aluminum are 100% recycled. These are taken over by professional contractors and reused as raw materials. Other rare earth materials, such as Gold, Silver and Neodymium are also recovered for re-use.

WHAT CAN BE RECYCLED

How are compressors recycled?

Firstly the refrigerant and oil are extracted and collected. Once this has been done, our recycling partner Enva recycles the compressor using the UKs first automatic compressor dismantling machine. CARRiE (Compressor Automatic Removal Recycling Equipment) allows the automatic extraction of the copper rich contents from inside the compressors while also separating the steel shell. This all done in the UK, reducing the need to send overseas for recycling.

how are compressors recycled

What happens to the refrigerant?

Refrigerants can harm the ozone layer and contribute to global warming if released into the atmosphere, so the safe extraction and handling of refrigerants is a top priority. When decommissioning old HVAC equipment, the contractor will need to extract any refrigerant gas from a system into a cylinder, this process is called ‘degassing’ (reclaiming). The contractor then takes the collected gas to their refrigerant processor for handling. The refrigerant processor will analyse the gas and assess whether it can be re-used, blended with another refrigerant for re-use or needs to be destroyed due to its chemical composition.

The process that can be offered by Enva, will allow for refrigerant that remains in the end of life unit either through pumping down to the condensing unit, or residual amounts in the unit to be safely handled and not allowed to be released to the atmosphere. Any residual refrigerant in the redundant HVAC unit is safely removed at Enva and processed on site through Geri (Gas Energy Recovery Incinerator), which ensures these gases are destroyed by high temperature incineration. Geri can also supply hot water and heating to be used in the plant.

what happens to the refrigerant

Recycling Programme Infographic

Download our useful, easy to understand infographic.


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Recycling ipad Infographic

Arrange a collection

To arrange a collection Contact Enva on 0844 736 0071 or email Customer.service@environcom.co.uk stating that you are a Mitsubishi Electric customer.

In the event of any issues with the collection, or if you have any special requirements, please contact Mayur Khetia on 0844 736 0071 or email Mayur.Khetia@environcom.co.uk

Delivery of New Ecodan

Recycling Technologies

Hyper Cycle Systems Corporation, which began operations in April, 1999 to comply with the enactment of Japan's Home Appliance Recycling Law, is the foundry of a new, sustainable recycling industry, crafting the production technologies and systems for producing pure, industrial-grade materials from the metal and plastic materials reclaimed from old electrical appliances.

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Green Cycle Systems Corporation commenced operation in April 2010, processing a granulated plastics mixture received from Hyper Cycle Systems Corporation into plastic materials pure enough to meet the safety and quality standards required for new electrical appliances.

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