are you recycling everything that is recyclable?

When you get a new air conditioner, the old equipment has to be hauled away whether it's a window AC, mini-split, or central HVAC. Rather than send the equipment to the dump, it's best to find an air conditioner recycling center to recycle both the refrigerant and metal in the equipment. It may even be against the law in your area to put old air conditioners in the landfill without at least removing the refrigerant first, which is a process that requires a licensed professional. Here are some ways to recycle an old air conditioner.

Let Your HVAC Installer Deal With It

The easiest way to get rid of all the old equipment and refrigerant is to let your HVAC installer handle the recycling details. They are licensed to handle refrigerant, so they may take the refrigerant out and break down the parts themselves.

Use An Air Conditioner Recycling Service

If your HVAC installer doesn't handle recycling themselves, they may use an air conditioner recycling service that picks the equipment up and then breaks it down for recycling. The recycling service can even remove refrigerant, so if you're stuck with an old air conditioner you need to get rid of, see if you can find an air conditioner recycling service nearby that will pick up your equipment. They may even pick it up for free without you having to do any prep work.

Call Your City's Waste Disposal Office

Your city might accept air conditioners for recycling. If they don't, they might refer you to local companies that do. If your city accepts air conditioners, they might pick the equipment up for free if you place it on your curb. If the city won't pick it up, you may need to take your AC to a designated recycling center that's run by your city. Just be sure to take your AC to a center that accepts air conditioners because basic recycling centers usually don't.

Find A Local Recycling Center

If you don't have any luck with the above options, call local recycling centers to see if they take air conditioners. Call first, because they may have restrictions. For instance, you may need to hire a technician to get the refrigerant out of the AC before the recycling center can accept the equipment.

Once the refrigerant is removed, a recycling center can take out the parts and separate the metal, plastics, and motors so as much of your old equipment as possible can be recycled.

Air conditioners are often tricky to recycle because of the refrigerant. You can't toss a small window unit in your garbage can, and you can't take a central air or mini-split to just any recycling center. However, it usually isn't too difficult to find a place that accepts air conditioners even if you have to work with your city to get your old AC removed.