Thousands of broken fridge freezers stockpile at councils after plant closures and heatwave

Left · 1The Daily Mirror reported, in what it called a probe, that an estimated 50,000 or more abandoned fridges and freezers are piling up at councils across England and Wales, with storage costing thousands of pounds each day. 1 Left · 1The Local Government Association (LGA) said it is impossible to predict the true scale accurately, so the 50,000 figure is the Mirror's own understanding. 1 Left · 2Fridges and freezers need specialist dismantling because of the harmful gases they contain, so they cannot be crushed with other scrap. 2 1

Left · 2Three of the UK's 10 full-scale processing plants have closed in the past year, because of a fire, a bankruptcy and a change of use. Both outlets say this was compounded by the summer's extreme heat. 1 2 Left · 1Metro adds that facilities cannot operate above 30C and that fridges are more likely to fail in hot weather, so more appliances need processing. It says the UK had its hottest summer on record. 2 Left · 2By late August, 26 councils had suspended fridge collections, including authorities in Bradford and parts of Gloucestershire, Durham and Nottinghamshire. 2 1

Left · 2More than 30,000 fridges and freezers are stored at Norfolk County Council's Mayton Wood recycling site, which is at or near capacity. Norfolk has limited fridge drop-offs to its seven biggest recycling centres, out of 19 normally operating. 2 1 Left · 2A Norfolk County Council spokesperson called it a national issue caused by a treatment plant going into administration in November 2025 and a recent fire at another. The council is awaiting word from its contractor and urges ministers to ensure manufacturers and producer compliance schemes fund collection and treatment. 1 2 Left · 1In Wales, thousands of appliances were left at a former recycling site at Newport docks after Unimetals Recycling (UK) Ltd was put into compulsory liquidation following a winding-up order on 25 November 2025. The Mirror reports this. 1

Left · 1LGA councillor Jon Hubbard said that part of a fridge's purchase price funds disposal, that the public are not getting what they pay for, and that producers are 'profiteering from the public'. He expects the problem to escalate. He said councils should have fridges collected within five days of notifying the scheme. 1 Left · 2The LGA has called for urgent government action, saying councils cannot be expected to keep paying to store growing stockpiles. Councils and officials fear this could lead to more fly-tipping. 2 1 Left · 2The Environment Agency has allowed fridges to be stored temporarily at sites not normally licensed to hold them, if conditions are met. Some fridges are being sent to Scotland or Europe, and industry figures expect more UK capacity in 2027 but say more long-term investment is needed. 2 1

Left · 2Defra says it is working with manufacturers, compliance schemes and councils, and stresses that producers remain responsible for clearing local authority sites. 1 2