After just one year of operation the Destruction Incentives Program for waste synthetic greenhouse gases (SGG) and ozone depleting substances (ODS) will formally end on June 30, 2014.
Under the program, which began on July 1, 2013, financial incentives were paid to refrigeration contractors for waste refrigerant gases collected for destruction.
The $4.50 a kilogram payment provided
an additional $1.50 a kilo above the $3 already paid by Refrigerant Reclaim Australia (RRA).
The demise of the program which had an incredibly short life is largely due to a change of government.
In an interview with CCN, a federal government spokesperson pointed out that “the program was established by the previous government and changes to government policy means it will cease after one year.”
While industry publicly applauded the introduction of the program in 2013, there were also unsettling questions raised about the future of reclaim and recovery operations already in place.
The bottom line is that Australia has one of the best stewardship programs in the world.
For the past 20 years Refrigerant Reclaim Australia (RRA) has successfuly operated Australia’s very own not-for-profit, industry funded disposal and recovery program.
During this time the RRA has destroyed around 4800 tonnes of ODS and SGG refrigerants. So why disrupt or propose any kind of change to a program that has been such a success for such a token incentive?
That was the question that troubled large sections of industry.
Industry submissions made to the federal government prior to the introduction of the program raised a number of critical issues.
As DuPoint pointed out, the size of the incentive will have little impact with the company’s business manager for chemicals and fluoroproducts, John McCormack questioning the current allocation of resources.
“It is my view that greater abatement could be achieved by the department focusing efforts on enforcing existing regulations rather than becoming involved in the reuse, recovery, reclaim and destruction of areas of the market which are currently well served by RRA,” he said.
This theme emerged repeatedly in the submission process with other industry players calling for greater enforcement of the current regulatory environment.
There was also concern about opening the market to other commercial operators when the not-for-profit model has worked so well.
“The concern with organisations that operate for a profit is that they would not ensure that all segments and regions that the HVAC&R industry operates in are treated equally.
The tendency would be to cherry pick and concentrate on the most profitable segments that could lead to peverse outcomes such as the intentional release of ODS and SGGs in more remote regions,” Heatcraft stated in its submission.
The company questioned why funds are not being directed to better enforcement through bodies such as the Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC). Moreover, Heatcraft said it is important that accredited destruction providers remain ‘not-for-profit’ to minimise the threat of rorting or manipulation to the scheme.
Arkema had a similar view stating that a not-for-profit body provides the best mechanism to avoid commercial self interest.
“Government intervention in this scheme has the potential to unravel the current system and set a precedent that could be disastrous for industry,” the company said in its submission.
“Arkema’s preference is to therefore leave the current model for destruction as it is.”
The Australian Refrigeration Council’s submission was just as forthright.
“The current system works. It works extremely well. Indeed it is widely viewed as a global leader. Not only does it have a very real positive impact, it also provides Australia with significant credibility on the global stage,” the ARC said.
While government policy may be short-term, thankfully industry has a long term commitment to recycling that is demonstrated in the RRA’s success. Hopefully, the RRA will be operating for another 20 years regardless of who is in government.