About Us

Jon Morgan, Managing Director of Carbon Collectors Refrigerant Recovery has been involved in many areas of the HVAC Industry since the 1980’s and has personally witnessed the bad old days of deliberately releasing refrigerant to the atmosphere with no real knowledge, thought or care for the accumulating damage to our environment, with no fines or penalties to deter such activities taking place on a daily basis, all around Australia, and probably the World for that matter. “Every Little Bit Counts” is our mantra and our mission is to spread the message so that everyone is aware and responsible when disposing of their End-of-Life equipment…If you own the appliance you own the gas contained within it, therefore it should be your responsibility to ensure it is recovered, and this is where Carbon Collectors Refrigerant Recovery can help, by giving you a choice to do the right thing for the environment, right now and for the future.

Our Mission is to “Educate and Enable” by spreading the word of the importance of Refrigerant Recovery to the Citizens of Australia, enabling access to Carbon Collectors Refrigerant Recovery everywhere, to ensure that Ozone Depleting and Global Warming Refrigerants are being recovered and destroyed, whenever and wherever possible.

The Common refrigerant gases found in most Domestic and Commercial Appliances are;

R22 – HCFC – HydroChloroFluoroCarbons – All types of Split Airconditioning Systems.

R410a – HFC – HydroFluoroCarbons – Modern Air-Cooled Split Airconditioning Systems.

R134a – HFC – All Domestic and Commercial Refrigerators, Freezers, Automotive A/C.

R12 – CFC – ChloroFluoroCarbons – Older model Refrigerators and Freezers.

HCFC’s and CFC’s are classified as Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) have a high Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and Global Warming Potential (GWP). HFC’s are classified as Synthetic Greenhouse Gases (SGG’s) and have a high GWP. Chlorine molecules contained in the ODS refrigerants are naturally drawn up into the Stratospheric Ozone through heat transfer, particularly up around the Antarctic, where they are frozen in the clouds over Winter and released in Summer by exposure to UV Radiation from the Sun. The ensuing chemical reaction releases the Chlorine which sets out to attack and breakdown the Stratospheric Ozone Layer, creating a hole in this “blanket” which is protecting the Earth and all of its’ occupants from the damaging UV Radiation from the Sun.

All Fluorinated Refrigerants have an Estimated Atmospheric Life (EAL) which means they don’t just fade away, in fact they can remain in the Atmosphere for 100’s of years, continually damaging the Ozone Layer. The Equivalent Carbon Content (CO²) of these gases contributes to the many Global Warming gases trapped in our Atmosphere, preventing the rising heat from the surface of the Earth from dissipating and ultimately raising the Earth’s Temperature.

HFC refrigerants can expand up to 2000 times their Carbon Content when released to the atmosphere; in fact 1kg of R410a refrigerant has the Carbon Equivalent of 2 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide (CO²) when released, this would be the average refrigerant charge for a 3.5Kw airconditioning split system or box type room airconditioner.

R134a refrigerant contained within a domestic refrigerator/freezer could be anywhere from 60-200 grams so it stands to reason that if every household in Australia  (Pop:23 million) has a refrigerator which is replaced every 8 years on average, that’s a considerable amount of refrigerant that could potentially end up in our Atmosphere and the Stratosphere if it is not effectively recovered and disposed of at the end-of-life of these appliances.

Australia and therefore Australians are signatories to the Kyoto Protocol, the Montreal Protocol and most recently Copenhagen, so we are committed, in part, to reducing our Carbon Emissions, or better still eliminating these damaging ODS and SGG refrigerant gases from our atmosphere.  In line with our commitments, Australia has recently banned the import of HCFC R22 refrigerant and classified it as a Restricted Substance currently being phased out of production worldwide and will not be available for use as a refrigerant in Australia after 2016.

The HVAC/R Industry have long been actively phasing out all CFC’s and HCFC’s and most Airconditioning Manufacturers have already switched to refrigerant HFC R410A and other HFC and more recently Hydrocarbon refrigerant blends.  All Fluorinated Refrigerants are priced according to their Carbon Equivalent Content and the Industry has recently seen massive price increases to reflect these changes, encouraging the research of alternative refrigerants, with the main response being a move to natural refrigerants such as R290 and R600a Hydrocarbons (HC) which have Zero ODP and Zero GWP, plus they don’t attract a Carbon Levy.

There are many reasons why refrigerant gases should be recovered; environmentally being the main one, legally being the other, and everyone has a role to play in ensuring that these environmentally damaging refrigerant gases are recovered from their end-of –life refrigerated equipment before disposal, and this duty of care to our environment should not entirely be the responsibility of the Refrigeration and Airconditioning Industry, if you own the appliance what’s in it is yours, so you should be responsible for where it ends up at the end of its life.

All Carbon Collectors Refrigerant Recovery Network Licensees are appropriately Licensed, Trained, Skilled and Knowledgeable, offering their customers friendly, efficient on-site recovery and removal off-site recovery services, certifying your Carbon Collection to allow for disposal of your End-of-Life appliances to the appropriate Waste Management/Recycling Depot in the area. Your local Carbon Collectors Licensee will arrange for Pick-up, Recovery and Disposal of your End-of-Life Refrigerated Equipment, saving you the hassle of handling and transport.

Carbon Collectors Refrigerant Recovery Network Licensees are trained to assess and apply the correct methods to effectively recover the entire refrigerant charge from your End-of Life equipment and we pride ourselves on Zero Emissions while undertaking all of our recovery procedures.

If you would like to do your bit then all you need to do is go to www.carboncollectors.com.au  and fill in the Carbon Recovery Request Form and you will be contacted by your local Carbon Collectors Network Licensee to arrange a time and method of disposal, and contribute something positive towards reducing your carbon emissions, rather than just paying a carbon tax.

Carbon Collectors P/L Refrigerant Recovery are based in Queensland and currently service the South East, all Brisbane Suburbs, and Northern NSW regions, with the aim to expand the Franchise Network Australia wide. Our pricing is structured and reasonable considering the immediate benefits for the environment and for future generations, because Every Little Bit Counts.