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Appliance Recycling Guide 1.0 Introduction In 1991, about 3.4 million appliances (536,000,000 pounds) were discarded in California. Included were refrigerators, freezers, clothes dryers, washing machines, dishwashers, microwave ovens, ranges/ovens, furnaces, hot water heaters, and air conditioners. The California Legislature determined that major appliances and other large metallic discards in solid waste landfills needlessly uses scarce lanat�fill capacity and that these items can be effectively separated from the waste stream and recycled. On January 1, 1994, a new law took effect in which the objective was to divert appliances and other large metallic discards from disposal and to recycle these items in an environmentally sound and safe manner. A primary provision of this law is the requirement to remove special materials from major appliances and other large metallic discards prior to crushing the discard for transport or transferring to a baler or shredder for recycling. The special materials specifically outlined in this law are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used as refrigerants in air conditioning and refrigeration equipment, polychlorinated biphynels (PCBs) used in some motor capacitors and fluorescent lighting ballasts, and sodium azide used to inflate automobile air bags. Sodium azide will not be an issue of discussion for this recycling guide since most vehicles are already diverted from solid waste facilities. This law also requires the removal of other special materials regulated by the Department of Toxic Substances Control such as used oil found in compressors and transmissions and mercury found in switches and temperature control systems. This recycling guide is developed to assist those persons in the disposal and recycling sectors who intend on processing appliances and the special materials contained within them. This guide is not intended for use by the home repair person, known as the do-it yourselfer. The appliance recycling guide focuses on the; 1) identification of special materials which require removal, 2) special materials removal and extraction methods, 3) identification of health and safety hazards in removing and handling special materials, and 4) management of special materials in accordance with state and federal regulations. The appliance management system is shown in Figure 1. Section numbers refer to sections within this guide. A matrix of appliances and special materials contained within these appliances is shown in Table 1. These appliances are either known to contain or have a likelihood of containing special materials. 1