Making quality visible – The RAL GZ 728 quality mark for the demanufacture of refrigeration equipment.
The RAL GZ 728 quality assurance scheme, which was developed and compiled by the RAL Quality Assurance Association for the Demanufacture of Refrigeration Equipment in conjunction with the RAL Institute, contains a catalogue of the requirements that need to be met at each stage of the demanufacturing process, including the use of the best available technology. The GZ 728 quality assurance standard requires continuous and systematic record-keeping covering all of the materials entering and leaving the demanufacturing facility – making the RAL treatment protocol fully transparent for all stakeholders.
Of central importance in the RAL GZ 728 quality assurance scheme is the specification of minimum required recovery rates for the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in end-of-life refrigeration appliances (referred to jointly as volatile fluorocarbons VFCs) and for the (volatile) halogen-free hydrocarbons (HCs or VHCs).
The RAL quality standards are designed to encourage demanufacturers to recover every last gram of refrigerant and blowing agent from waste refrigeration equipment.
The WEEE Directive 2012/19/EU stipulates the targeted and controlled removal of both VFCs and VHCs from waste refrigeration equipment followed by their recovery or safe disposal. This requirement is integral to the European standard EN 50625-2-3 and the associated Technical Specification CLC TS EN 50625-3-4 which describe the minimum criteria that must be met when treating end-of-life refrigeration appliances. These documents were developed by CENELEC which is one of the three bodies tasked by the EU with developing harmonized European standards.
One of the important stipulations contained in these standards is that VHC-containing appliances have to be treated in such a way that sorting errors (where VFC-containing appliances are mistakenly identified as VHC appliances) do not result in the accidental emission of VFC refrigerants or blowing agents.
The RAL GZ 728 quality assurance and test specifications combine the requirements of the WEEE Directive and the CENELEC standards into one comprehensive standard that is being used to ensure high-quality, environmentally sound fridge demanufacturing operations in numerous European countries.
To determine whether a demanufacturing company is complying with the stringent and extensive requirements set out in GZ 728 quality assurance scheme, the RAL Quality Assurance Association commissions recognized auditors to perform the necessary external monitoring and compliance testing. With more than fifteen years’ experience in assessing fridge demanufacturing plants, the RAL auditors guarantee the systematic, independent and transparent evaluation of demanufacturing facilities and services.
CFCs in other products – The RAL GZ 729 quality mark for the demanufacture of foam products containing ozone-depleting substances.
Although the treatment of waste refrigeration equipment containing CFCs has been an integral part of the European waste management sector for more than twenty years, another major source of CFCs from waste products has been largely ignored.
In the 1970s, the climatically harmful CFCs and other ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) began to be used not only as refrigerants in refrigeration and cooling systems, but also as foam blowing agents in the production of polymer foams.
CFCs were used extensively in the manufacture of polyurethane foams for the construction industry and in many other foam insulation products.
The long lifetimes of these products mean that many of them are still in use – and the CFCs/ODSs they contain have the potential to cause significant climate damage if released into the environment. For example, domestic boilers containing CFC-blown insulation foam are still regularly received at waste collection facilities.
The RAL GZ 729 quality mark scheme provides a comprehensive set of quality assurance and test specifications for the environmentally sound treatment of CFC-containing foams.
RAL quality marks are helping to ensure that all CFC-containing products are collected, transported and treated in a safe and environmentally compatible manner.
