Nothing lasts forever, including your appliances. If you're lucky, you may get 20 years or more out of that refrigerator or washer, but sooner or later it'll give out. Or maybe you just don't like it and are opting for a mercy kill to justify a replacement. Perhaps you want to buy a more energy-efficient model. Whatever the case, here are a few ways to stay responsible as you try to dispose of your old appliances. Credit: Flickr user "usacehq" A giant, boxy hunk of metal isn't the easiest thing to get rid of, short of dumping it in a field (don't do that). One of the more convenient options is to swap it out when you buy a new unit. Some retailers like Lowe's, Home Depot, Sears or Best Buy will take away those old appliances when they deliver your new one, often times at no additional cost. For some types of appliances they'll use a third party to recycle it, especially for items containing refrigerants. If you aren't buying a new appliance, retailers may also take the units away, but for a fee.

For example, Best Buy can pick these up for you at a cost of $100 for the first two appliances and $20 for each unit after. A small price to pay for convenience? The Salvation Army can also take it off your hands, and you can write the value of the item off on your taxes. Services such as 1-800-Got-Junk? can also get rid of that rust-bucket in your kitchen, but the local franchises often charge fees. Recycling an old appliance is going to provide the biggest environmental benefit, reusing plastic, metal, and glass in the unit. Sometimes retailers and utility companies may recycle for you, but often they'll first try to refurbish and resell the unit. The number or recycling centers in any area varies state by state, but you can get help finding one through sites like Earth911. Credit: Flickr user "Jennifer C" Utility companies may give you incentives or pay you outright to turn in old appliances for new, efficient ones in a rebate program. They may then recycle or sell these appliances themselves.

Sometimes they compensate you with cash, sometimes with a credit to your utility account. For example, California-based Pacific Gas and Electric will cut you you a $35 check for your fridge of freezer and $25 for that old air conditioner. small ac unit for saleThey do have some standards, such as the fridge being residential grade and within certain size parameters, so you'll want to read the fine print.home ac unit not working on Programs like this are going to vary based on where you live and who your utility provider is, so do some research. why do ac units stop workingThe EPA's Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD) program removes ozone-depleting appliances, and they partner with certain utility companies, some of which might be in your area.

Depending on where you live, you may be able to leave that old appliance on the sidewalk for trash collection, but you may have to schedule an appointment and pay a fee. In Boston, for instance, you can leave your old stove, dishwasher, washer, dryer and so on on the sidewalk next to your garbage cans on trash day. Items with hazardous gases such as refrigerators, TVs, air conditioners, and others require special pickup requests, and the trash company may cap the number they can accept from you each year (in Boston, it's five per year). With this particular program, many of the appliance categories are recycled, so you have that added benefit. Other localities will charge to pick up some appliances. In the Boston suburb of Somerville, appliances like refrigerators and washers require a White Goods sticker for pickup, which you can purchase through the city for $25. It's important to check requirements with your local waste disposal institution. Some localities will require you to remove parts or chemicals inside the fridge before they'll take it, but never do that yourself, as they can pose a health hazard.

If this is the case, ask your local waste disposer for recommended services to dispose of the chemicals and components. Whether you're recycling or just trashing your unit, you'll want to be aware of hazardous components. A refrigerator or air conditioner may seem innocuous, but refrigerants and mercury pose environmental concerns. Fridges and freezers sold before 1995 contain chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), while air conditioners and dehumidifiers contain hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC). These chemicals deplete the ozone layer, contributing to global warming. The foam on fridges made before 2005 also contains these chemicals, and the fridge circuits and oil can also be contaminated. Mercury is a safety component for appliances, especially pilot light gas ranges. It makes sure the gas valve is shut off when the pilot light isn’t on. Likewise it's also an environmental hazard, posing a threat to ground water. Though gas-light ranges are decreasing in prevalence over time, an older unit may pose a hazard.

You can also find mercury in washing machines made before 1972, so if you're helping your parents get rid of those ancient washers, be cautious. Older appliances may have Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) in their circuits. PCB was banned by the EPA in 1979, but this once-prevalent material used to be found in all variety of appliances, including dryers, refrigerators, stoves, washers, TVs, and so on. If your appliances were made before 1979, avoid handling any internal components, as PCBs have been linked to cancer and other health problems in both humans and animals. Because of federal EPA regulations, scrap yards and waste disposers are required to know how to deal with PCBs without complication, but just know this hazard is one of many reasons you should properly dispose of your appliances. For more information on disposing of appliances, consult these guidelines from the EPA. Photos: summersumz, Flickr [CC-BY-3.0]; seven twenty five, Flickr [CC-BY-3.0]All classic car original air conditioning systems were filled with dichlorodifluoromethane or R-12/CFC-12 Freon.

Even newer cars used the standard R-12 until the EPA, under section 609, in an attempt to reduce atmospheric ozone depletion, mandated that manufacturers phase out its use by the end of the 1994 model year. An environmentally friendlier substitute, tetrafluoroethane or R134A, was selected as the new industry standard, and plans were to phase out R-12 manufacture entirely by 1996. At the same time, new regulations regarding recharging of the older air conditioning systems on classic cars were also mandated. Original R-12 systems were to be retrofitted to accept the R134A refrigerant. The changeover kit depended on the original manufacturers’ components, but basically consisted of adapters for connecting the older R-12 charging ports to the new R134A charging hoses and manifolds. A filter drier changeover was also done and once the old R-12 was purged from the system (hopefully through an MVAC refrigerant recycler), a new R134A-compatible PAG oil was added to the system for lubrication before the system was refilled.

Prices for old R-12 skyrocketed as production was reduced and sales of R-12 were restricted to certified air-conditioning recycling specialists. This caused many classic car owners who wanted to keep their A/C system original turned to household R-22 Freon while it was still available. R-22 Chlorodifluoromethane was commonly found in household air conditioning systems, as well as refrigerators and freezers and in tractor-trailer reefer units. It was a passable substitute, but generated much higher engine compartment temperatures than the original R-12. The EPA soon realized that R-22 was being put into R-12 systems, and eliminated the production of R-22 in 2003. Like R-12 though, you occasionally see someone with an old container making a tidy profit by sitting on a stockpile for a few years. R-22 in household refrigeration units is now substituted with R502, but it is not recommended for automotive use. R134A or HFC-134A became the accepted standard, because it has no potential of ozone depletion and has similar (but not equal to) cooling abilities to the R-12 and R-22 refrigerants.

Many classic car enthusiasts have stated that their original air conditioning systems, once changed over and refilled with R134A, do not blow as cold as they used to. Unfortunately, there is not much anyone can do about this. With the new EPA mandates, some driver comfort has to be sacrificed in the name of a more environmentally friendly and safer replacement refrigerant. Anybody who grabs a can of air to blow off their computer keyboard is using HFC-134A to do it. Computer air has fewer lubricants in it than the conventional R134A. In the future, look for even R134A to be replaced with even more friendly substitutes. Recent European environmental standards have called for a new Freon formulation known as R152A. The good news with this new formulation is that it can be retrofitted into an R134A system without modifications and it actually blows slightly colder air than its R134A predecessor. R152A is slightly less dense than R134A, so it can theoretically contribute to better fuel economy as well.

The bad news is that it is a Class 2 flammable gas, similar to bottled acetylene, hydrogen and methane. It would not be a good thing to get it too close to a spark plug wire or a hot exhaust manifold. The other new alternative to R134A is HFO-1234YF, which has similar properties to R134A but meets the new European global warming standards. Each of the above-listed refrigerants has a global warming potential rating as well as an ozone depletion rating, and as of yet, the HCO-1234YF is the only refrigerant that meets both EPA and European standards. HFO-1234YF is also a Class 2 flammable gas although slightly less flammable than the R152A. Other Class 2 refrigerants found on the market, but not recommended for automotive use include R1143A, R142B and R143A. Whatever refrigerant you end up using, it is important that the old system be completely purged before attempting a changeover, and old refrigerants be removed into an MVAC recycler, preventing them from escaping into the atmosphere. The MVAC recyclers are required equipment today for any A/C service bay or car dismantling operation that repairs any automotive A/C system or breaks down old A/C-equipped vehicles for scrap.