The Allegheny County Health Department is sponsoring a program that offers free pickup and recycling of refrigerant-containing appliances which are no longer in use and need to be discarded.

The program is available to County residents only and includes refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, water coolers and other household appliances that contain refrigerants. No commercial appliances will be accepted.

“Removing refrigerants from these appliances and recycling them is a win-win-win for the economy, the environment and public health,” said County Health Director Dr. Bruce W. Dixon.

“Recycling such appliances not only cuts down on illegal dumping and saves valuable landfill space, but also prevents the release of refrigerant gases that deplete the ozone layer, which blocks the sun’s ultraviolet rays that increase the risk of skin cancer.”

The Appliance Warehouse and Parkway Heating and Air Conditioning are carrying out the program under contracts with the Health Department.

To arrange for curbside pickup of an appliance, residents countywide can call the Appliance Warehouse at 1-888-GO-FREON (1-888-463-7366) and those in the western suburbs are urged to call Parkway Heating and Air Conditioning at 412-279-6001.

The western suburbs include Bridgeville, Carnegie, Collier, Coraopolis, Crafton, Crescent, Findlay, Green Tree, Heidelberg, Ingram, Kennedy, McDonald, McKees Rocks, Moon, Neville, North Fayette, Oakdale, Pennsbury Village, Robinson, Rosslyn Farms, Scott, South Fayette, Stowe, and Thornburg.

Funded by a $150,000 grant from the County Clean Air Fund, the program aims to recycle at least 3,750 appliances this year. Nearly 8,000 refrigerant-containing appliances were collected and recycled in three earlier programs sponsored by the Health Department in 2006, 2007 and 2009.