Due to industry-wide efforts, typically 90 percent of the steel in appliances is recycled. Photo courtesy of Electrolux ICON®

Appliance Longevity and Recycling

According to AHAM, major home appliances have long useful lives, typically 10 to 18 years. When they do finally reach the end and are recycled, they take on new value as an important manufacturing source of raw material. In the United States, discarded appliances (also sometimes referred to as "white goods") are second only to old automobiles as a source of recycled metals, particularly steel. Using recycled steel to create new appliances has a positive impact on the environment, since it takes up to four times more energy to manufacture steel from virgin ore as it does to make the same steel from recycled material. While steel is the most abundant recyclable component in appliances, it is not the only one-they also contain other metals like aluminum and copper, as well as recyclable plastics and recoverable refrigerants.

Recognizing the significance of recycling in the appliance industry, AHAM established in 1993 the Appliance Recycling Information Center (ARIC). The mission of this center is to "serve as the authoritative source of information on the environmentally responsible disposal and recycling of appliances and to undertake research into the recycling of major household appliances." In 1994, the Major Appliance Resource Management Alliance (MARMA) was founded to expand on ARIC's mission of increasing the recycling rate of major appliances. Then in 2010, MARMA was reconstituted as the North American Appliance Resource Management Alliance (NAARMA) to allow for the inclusion of more appliance types and to broaden its reach beyond the US to now include Canada. This alliance is comprised of representatives from all sectors of the appliance industry, the steel recycling industry, the plastics council, and scrap recyclers. It serves as a forum to share ideas, discuss new technologies, advocate shared views, and promote sustainable recycling practices. Further, it develops and makes available the most accurate technical data about appliance disposal and recycling, including advances in appliance recycling technology. As a testimony to these efforts, 90 percent of the steel in major appliances is reported to be recycled.

AHAM is also a co-sponsor with the Steel Recycling Institute of the Recycling Information Center, a toll-free number that consumers and specifiers can call for information on product recycling, including the recycling of major appliances. Anyone with questions on recycling can call 1-800-YES-1-CAN (937-1226) to reach recorded messages or to ask questions of live operators.

ENERGY STAR® for Appliances

ENERGY STAR® is a well known program of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that provides a government-backed symbol for energy efficiency. It is intended to help consumers save money and protect the environment through energy-efficient products and practices. According to their website, the ENERGY STAR label was established to "reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants caused by the inefficient use of energy and make it easy for consumers to identify and purchase energy-efficient products that offer savings on energy bills without sacrificing performance, features, and comfort."

Appliances are a significant category of products within the ENERGY STAR program. Manufacturers can submit their information for review and verification by the EPA that they meet the requirements of the program in order to earn a coveted ENERGY STAR label. To qualify, appliances must minimally incorporate advanced technologies that use 10-50 percent less energy and water than standard models. In addition, all products need to demonstrate compliance with the following guiding principles as described by the EPA:

• Product categories must contribute significant energy savings nationwide.
• Qualified products must deliver the features and performance demanded by consumers, in addition to increased energy efficiency.
• If the qualified product costs more than a conventional, less-efficient counterpart, purchasers will recover their investment in increased energy efficiency through utility bill savings, within a reasonable period of time.
• Energy efficiency can be achieved through broadly available, non-proprietary technologies offered by more than one manufacturer.
• Product energy consumption and performance can be measured and verified with testing.
• Labeling would effectively differentiate products and be visible for purchasers.

This review and labeling process can serve an important role in the overall design of a green or sustainable building. Architects quite naturally often focus their efforts related to residential energy use on the building envelope and the heating and cooling systems. However, according to the ENERGY STAR program a typical home energy profile includes 29 percent on heating energy and 17 percent on cooling, or just under half of the total energy usage. The remaining 54 percent is attributed to fixtures and appliances of all types and sizes.This includes 14 percent for water heating, 12 percent for lighting, and 4 percent on electronic devices. The EPA then breaks out appliances separately to include a refrigerator, dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer as accounting for a significant 13 percent of energy use. The remaining 11 percent in their breakdown is attributed to "other" which includes stoves, ovens, microwaves, and small appliances. Combined, then, appliances can account for up to 24 percent of a typical residential energy bill. Therefore, while heating and cooling efficiency are clearly important, it is also very important to pay attention to the energy efficiency of appliances that are specified into residential units since they can also account for a significant amount of the total energy use.

The importance of energy use goes beyond the monthly utility bill, however. Most of the electricity generated in the United States still relies on the burning of fossil fuels, which dumps carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The current calculation is that one kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumed (or saved) equals 1.43 lbs of carbon dioxide emitted (or saved) at the power plant. This is significant since carbon dioxide is one of the leading gases attributed to the "greenhouse effect" and global warming. Scientific studies have determined that the average American household consumes enough electricity to produce approximately 9,900 lbs of carbon dioxide a year-almost five tons! Specifically calling for appliances to carry the ENERGY STAR label wherever applicable is one way to improve energy efficiency in a project that can contribute to lower energy use and correspondingly lower emissions. The EPA website www.energystar.gov includes lists of manufacturers and models of all types of appliances that are rated along with recommendations for energy and water efficiency in appliances that are not rated.