Ealing Council has temporarily paused fridge and freezer collections for residents in the borough due to a national shortage of specialist recycling facilities.
Greenford Road recycling centre has also stopped taking fridges and freezers after running out of storage space. The council said three UK plants that recycle the appliances had closed.
According to the Local Government Association, the summer heatwave is likely to have been a contributing facvtor to backlog by causing more breakdowns and people needing to get replacements.
Ealing Council has given no date when collections will resume. In the meantime, it is asking residents to keep their unwanted appliances on their property and has warned that leaving a fridge or freezer on the pavement could be treated as fly-tipping and lead to a fine.
Anyone buying a replacement is also asked to check with their retailer to see if they can take the old appliance away. Those paying for removal should also check that the waste carrier is registered and request a receipt.
Councillor Dominic Moffitt, Ealing Council’s cabinet member for climate action, said: “We are closely monitoring the situation and will restart collections as soon as recycling facilities become available again.”
