ASHLAND — Have an unwanted appliance that contains Freon, or refrigerants?
Now you can throw them away for free — sort of — in Ashland County.
Local tax money has been set aside to cover a new program led by the Ashland County Solid Waste District, a total of around $6,000 in 2023.
The program will work similarly to the county’s tire voucher program, launched in October 2021, where residents will be required to pick up a voucher at the Ashland County administrative building on Cottage Street.
The voucher will be good for two appliances that contain refrigerants. Acceptable appliances include full- and small-sized refrigerators, deep freezers, dehumidifiers and window air conditioners. Refrigerators and freezers must be free of food.
Once a resident has the voucher, they can take the appliance for drop-off at Farm and Home Hardware in Ashland or Innovative Recycling in Galion.
The program will cost the county $20 per appliance, according to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) sent to both drop-off sites.
The program is only available to residents; businesses, government, school districts, farms and “other institution-generated Freon containing appliances” are not permitted to participate, the MOU reads.
Jim Skora, the solid waste district’s director, said some appliances will contain “weird” Freon, or refrigerant, that will prevent them from being discarded because of additional regulations.
The refrigerant recycling program represents the county’s latest effort to reintroduce the service after shuttering the recycling center in 2020.
For information on the county’s new recycling programs, visit the solid waste district’s website.
The solid waste district will host another household hazardous waste and paint collection event on May 6 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
