When chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were invented about a century ago, they 
were seen as safe alternatives to sulfur dioxide and ammonia, the refrigerants most widely used at the time. However, by the 1970s, scientists discovered that CFCs were an environmental hazard, as they contributed to the breakdown in the ozone layer of earth’s atmosphere. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in its landmark Clean Air Act, included the regulation of CFCs in Title VI among its directives.
Earlier this year, NASA concluded that ozone depletion during the Antarctic winter has indeed decreased by 20 percent since 2005.
With its corporate headquarters located in Foxboro MA, Interstate Refrigerant Recovery, Inc. (IRRI)—NERC’s newest Sustaining Advisory Member—is well positioned to provide its state of the art on-site refrigerant recovery services throughout the Northeast. IRRI’s, family and employee-owned company service(s) over 500 towns and communities. They handle recycling the refrigerant from appliances dropped off at the transfer stations in nine states .In addition to municipalities their book of business includes construction & demolition companies on a regular basis, and contracts with major corporations and the military as well. The company has been in business since 1995.
During the refrigerant recovery process, it is mandated by EPA that no more than a microscopic amount of CFCs escape. Certified and compliant with all EPA and OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) guidelines, IRRI also provides the documentation necessary to assure that recovery has been properly completed.
With so many of the boxes of sustainable materials management successfully checked—from human health to the environment to product recovery and reuse—it seems most fitting that IRRI has joined NERC as an Advisory Member. “We work a lot with MRFs (materials recovery facilities) to recover refrigerant from appliances, so it seemed worthwhile to sign on as a sponsor of NERC’s Fall 2018 Conference,” said Tim Maloof, Vice President of IRRI. “When I witnessed the expertise gathered there, both from presenters and those in the audience, I knew that becoming an Advisory Member would benefit us.”