Project puts life into old fridges
April 26, 2007
A call for 5000 old, unwanted fridges will be sent out to Melbournians today when the Hon. John Thwaites, Minister for Environment, Water and Climate Change, officially launches the new Phoenix Fridge Warehouse and Workshop in East Brunswick.
A joint project by the Brotherhood of St Laurence and the Moreland Energy Foundation, supported by TRUenergy and the Victorian Government, Phoenix Fridges improves the efficiency of old fridges through repair, retrofitting and recycling.
Retrofitted fridges are then offered to low-income families, helping to slash refrigeration costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"Fridges are one of the major energy users in the home- responsible for around 15 per cent of household greenhouse gas emissions in Australia," the Chief Executive Officer of the Moreland Energy Foundation, Jim Downey, said today.
"If fridges aren't working well, they use significantly more energy, cost more to run and increase greenhouse gas emissions.
"Phoenix Fridges promotes energy efficiency by collecting unwanted fridges and repairing and retrofitting them so that they use less electricity.
"Our target is to collect 5000 fridges in the next year. This will save as many as 2.5 million kilowatt hours (kWh) per year in energy which equates to 5,500 tonnes of greenhouse emissions, equivalent to removing nearly 1200 cars from our roads," he said.
The Executive Director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, Tony Nicholson, said that many families on low incomes rely on old, energy-hungry and expensive fridges and that even if they'd like to replace their fridge, they simply can't afford to.
"Low-income households are particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change, often lacking the resources to reduce their environmental impact or the capacity to benefit from the greenhouse-friendly job opportunities that are emerging," Mr Nicholson said.
To have an old fridge collected free of charge contact the Brotherhood of St Laurence on 1300 DONATE (1300 366 283).
For information about the project visit www.phoenixfridges.com.au
