LIPA Celebrates Major Milestone for its Refrigerator Recycling Program

Authority announces 1,000th customer to participate in LIPA’s version of “Cash for Clunkers”

Uniondale, NY - Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) President and CEO Kevin S. Law and Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc (ARCA) Vice President of Resource Efficiency Programs Bruce J. Wall announced that LIPA’s Refrigerator Recycling Program has reached 1,000 customers highlighting both of the company's commitment to energy efficiency, recycling and environmental awareness.

“This is a significant milestone for us,” said Law. “The only way we can truly reduce our dependence on fossil fuels is to become smarter about the way we use energy. This program will continue to allow our customers to lower their electric bills, save money and be proactive in protecting the environment.”

The Refrigerator Recycling Program, which launched earlier this year and is a multiyear program, awards LIPA customers with a rebate of $35 to help them remove and properly dispose and recycle the energy-wasting appliance in an environmentally responsible manner. LIPA envisions that this ongoing program will allow for most of the old inefficient refrigerators to be recycled rather than being placed in the garage or basement of LIPA customer homes, which is the predominant practice.

LIPA’s Refrigerator Recycling Program is managed by Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc., an innovative company dedicated to preserving the environment through energy efficiency and proper appliance disposal.

“ARCA is proud to work with utilities such as LIPA, where together we are able to prevent more than 95% of the recyclable materials in old refrigerators and freezers from entering the waste stream,” said Wall. “The energy saved with this program by recycling the 1,000th refrigerator is equivalent to CO2 emissions from approximately 649,256 gallons of gasoline or the carbon sequestered annually by 54.8 acres of forest preserved from deforestation.”

In most households, the refrigerator is the single highest energy-consuming kitchen appliance. New ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerators are 40% more efficient than models sold in 2001. In fact, savings in energy costs may be as much as $100 per year if you replace a model that is currently in use for 13 years or more. That’s about $1,500 in savings over the expected life of a new ENERGY STAR refrigerator.

“Smart consumers know that replacing old, wasteful appliances with highly efficient ENERGY STAR models will save hundreds of dollars in electric bills. But keeping the old energy hog around and plugged in the basement will quickly eat up the energy savings”, said Gordian Raacke, executive director of the not-for-profit organization Renewable Energy Long Island (reLI). “Without LIPA’s recycling program 1,000 old refrigerators might have turned into energy guzzling ‘beasts in the basement’.”

“Long Islanders are constantly searching for ways to reduce energy bills and some may not even realize they have an old energy hog refrigerator plugged in their basement or garage. We normally think of satisfying our hunger with a trip to the refrigerator, but that second refrigerator also has an energy hunger that needlessly increases our electric bills! It’s time to get those energy hungry units out of our basements and recycled through LIPA’s program,” stated Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director, Citizens Campaign for the Environment.

“This unique Refrigerator Recycling Program has turned what use to be a chore to many residential consumers, into a hassle-free way to replace one of their old machines. The program provides numerous benefits, as customers receive rebates and save money by partaking in this initiative, while also helping out the environment by recycling and replacing their old refrigerator with a low-cost, energy-efficient appliance,” said Sarah Lansdale, Executive Director, Sustainable Long Island.

LIPA’s Refrigerator Recycling Program is part of Efficiency Long Island, a 10 year, $924 million program which offers a wide array of incentives, rebates and initiatives to LIPA’s residential and commercial customers to assist in reducing their energy usage and thereby lowering electric bills.

For more information on LIPA’s Refrigerator Recycling program visit http://www.lipower.org/residential/efficiency/programs/refrigerator.html.

Left to Right: Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc (ARCA) Vice President of Resource Efficiency Programs Bruce J. Wall; homeowners Bill and Kathleen Harris; Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) President and CEO Kevin S. Law; Renewable Energy Long Island (reLI) Executive Director, Gordian Raacke

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LIPA, a non-profit municipal electric provider, owns the retail electric Transmission and Distribution System on Long Island and provides electric service to more than 1.1 million customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. LIPA is the 2nd largest municipal electric utility in the nation in terms of electric revenues, 3rd largest in terms of customers served and the 7th largest in terms of electricity delivered. In 2010, LIPA outperformed all other overhead electric utilities in New York State for frequency of service interruptions, and ranked second for duration of service interruptions. LIPA does not provide natural gas service or own any on-island generating assets. More information about LIPA can be found online at: http://www.lipower.org.

Media Contact Information
Mark Gross
Phone - (516) 719-9892
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media.relations@lipower.org

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