Out with the old

Top marks for buying a new, energy efficient home appliance. But what should you do with your old one, asks Kyle Tabone Betts.

It is common knowledge that domestic appliances require a double payment. The first involves the purchase itself and is stated on the appliance’s price tag. The second comes in the form of utility bills and ends up surpassing the appliance’s capital cost in the long run.

Unfortunately, even with so many options available for the disposal of old appliances, certain people insist on simply chucking them out.- Kyle Tabone Betts

Moreover, as the appliance gets older, its parts start succumbing to the inescapable fate of wear and tear, causing it to become less efficient and use up more energy to operate. In turn, this drives up utility bills.

Thankfully, today’s appliances are much more efficient than their predecessors. An old fridge could be using as much as four units of electricity per day. On the other hand, new fridges use only around 0.5 to 0.8 units a day. The end result is an average annual saving of €250 on electricity bills – and this when replacing just one old appliance.

When buying a new appliance, it is vital to first take a good look at its EU Energy Label. Required by EU law through Directive 2010/30/EU (which replaced the old Directive 92/75/EC), this label provides information on the appliance’s energy efficiency class – this can vary from A+++ (most efficient) to G (least efficient). Additional information may include electricity consumption, storage capacity and freezing capacity, depending on the appliance in question.

As expected, an appliance with an A+++ rating will cost more than one having an A rating. However, the former’s higher efficiency rating will result in lower utility bills, thereby negating the difference in capital cost.

Once you buy your new energy efficient appliance, there’s just one question left: what do you do with the old appliance once you buy a new one?

One option is to donate or sell the old appliance to someone who might need it but who cannot afford the capital cost of a new one. Naturally, this applies only in those cases where the old appliance is still in good working order.

Alternatively, you could check with the retailer from whom the new appliance will be purchased whether a part-exchange service is offered.

The Atrium is one retailer catering for customers who wish to replace their old appliances. While it does not offer a part-exchange service, The Atrium is currently providing its customers with the possibility of taking away their old appliances when purchasing new ones.

“Should the customer wish that their old appliance is taken away for safe and eco-friendly disposal, we offer the service free of charge,” says Lino Apap, The Atrium sales manager. “All the customer has to do is to let us know that they have an old appliance for disposal and we will take it away.”

Finally, one can always opt to dispose of an old appliance in the old-fashioned way – through waste disposal. However, such disposal must be done properly by using either the bulky refuse service or one of the five civic amenity sites.

Offered by Local Councils, the bulky refuse service is intended to collect household waste which is considered to be too bulky for normal waste collection – such as domestic appliances, sofas and furniture. This service can be booked by calling the respective Local Council and is free of charge. Collection dates vary from one council to the other.

As for civic amenity sites, these are operated by WasteServ and are located in Mrieħel, Magħtab, Luqa, Ħal Far and Tal-Kus (Xewkija). Civic amenity sites provide the public with a convenient location where to deposit any waste which cannot be collected through normal means, like domestic bulky waste, construction material and hazardous waste. These sites are open from Monday to Sunday (including public holidays) between 7.30 am and 5.30 pm and require no fee to use.

Unfortunately, even with so many options available for the disposal of old appliances, certain people insist on simply chucking them out – a foolish and selfish behaviour which in Malta, seems to run rampant. Apart from being an illegal act and causing an eyesore, the irresponsible dumping of old appliances is very harmful on the environment. It’s also plain stupid, given the number of free disposal options available.

Depending on their type and year of manufacture, appliances are liable to releasing chemicals and other substances such as chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC), hydrofluorocarbon (HFC), mercury, used oil and, in the case of appliances manufactured before 1979, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB). To add insult to injury, the bulky nature of these appliances blocks any waterways they happen to be dumped in, thereby increasing the risk of flooding during the rainy months.

But of course, this seems to be of no concern to some unscrupulous individuals. Only last summer, the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs, through its Valley Management Unit, collected no less than 20,000 tonnes of bulky waste from 10 different valleys. The clean-up operation cost the taxpayer a staggering €700,000. Within days, waste started reappearing in the very same valleys.

I wonder whether, with so many options available for the proper disposal of old appliances at no additional cost, does it really make sense to dump them in valleys and such? I don’t think so.