Recovery, Recycling, Reclaim and Disposal
The three R's, precisely defined
- Recovery: removing refrigerant from a system into a container, without processing it. The refrigerant may then be recycled, reclaimed or destroyed.
- Recycling: cleaning recovered refrigerant on site - typically oil separation and moisture removal - for reuse, without full laboratory analysis.
- Reclaiming: reprocessing to new-product specification by a specialist facility, with analysis and certification. Reclaimed refrigerant can be placed on the market and counted against quota rules differently from virgin gas.
- Destruction: final disposal by an approved route, with records.
Practical duties
Use recovery equipment rated for the refrigerant and the cylinder; never mix refrigerants in one cylinder; never overfill - leave ullage for expansion; label cylinders with contents and whether recovered or reclaimed. Recovered refrigerant that is not reclaimed must be destroyed by an authorised operator and the transfer documented.
Traps
- Recycling is not reclaiming. A question may describe on-site cleaning and expect 'recycled'.
- Mixing refrigerants renders a cylinder unreclaimable and is a frequent wrong answer.
- Cylinder filling limits are tested; overfilling is a safety and legal failure.
- Venting is prohibited, including small residual amounts - recover and dispose properly.
- Documentation of destruction is often forgotten.
Worked example
You recover 6 kg of R-410A from a decommissioned system. You cannot reclaim it on site. You label the cylinder 'recovered R-410A, 6 kg', ensure it is not overfilled, and transfer it to a reclaiming or destruction facility, obtaining a transfer note. Recycling on site would only be acceptable if the gas were to be reused in the same or similar equipment after cleaning, not sold as new.