What in the World Is a White Good?

Dear Recycle Smart MA,

I’ve been wondering: Why are large appliances picked up separately, and what happens to them after they are collected? Oh, and why are they called “white goods”?

Sincerely,
White Goods Wonderer

Every now and then we get a question that hits differently. Sometimes we get easy questions; sometimes we get hard questions that prompt us to reach out to experts to find answers. Other times, like with the delightful question above, we are reminded how much of our trash and recycling knowledge we take for granted and consider widely understood. We live and breathe this stuff, so it’s kind of fun (and grounding) to be asked an obvious-to-us question because, yeah, why would you know, W.G.W.? Thank you for asking this question! We bet you’re not alone.

What Is a White Good?

Let’s start with terminology. “White goods,” more commonly described as “large appliances,” are things like washers, dryers, air conditioners, refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers – basically any machine that uses electricity or fuel to cool or heat air or water and isn’t easily portable. But why are they called “white goods”? Because old habits (and jargon) die hard! Appliances used to be predominantly white, so categorizing them this way made a lot of sense. Times have changed, and now large home appliances are all sorts of colors… but we still call them white goods.

Why Are White Goods Collected Separately?

Simply put, white goods can’t go in the trash. It’s not because they are heavy and too big to fit in a trash can, it’s because it’s against the law. The state of Massachusetts formally banned them from disposal or incineration as part of the waste bans back in 1991. (For a quick refresher on the waste bans, read our newsletter “Waste Bans 101”.) That’s why no matter what city or town you live in, large appliances require special collection and are not picked up with the trash.

Our frequent readers will remember that items banned from disposal in MA are either too good or too bad for the trash. Appliances are both – some parts are too good to waste, and others are really bad for the environment.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), depending on when an appliance was manufactured, it may contain a number of hazardous components such as oil and lubricants, mercury switches, capacitors containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (only in appliances manufactured before 1979), ozone-depleting refrigerants, and/or foam blowing agents. Fortunately, newer appliances don’t use refrigerants that damage the ozone layer, but they do contain potent greenhouse gases, which stick around in the atmosphere for a long time, trap heat, and warm the planet. As you can see, there’s a lot of bad stuff in white goods that we don’t want in the environment, so it’s important to dispose of them correctly.

Once white goods are collected, those containing refrigerants are sent to specialized facilities where the refrigerant is extracted. Refrigerants and how they are handled are regulated under the Clean Air Act. They can either be:

Recovered – Safely removed from the appliance and stored in a container until they are either properly disposed, recycled, or reclaimed.
Recycled – Run through devices that filter out moisture, acidity, and particulate matter. Recycled refrigerants can be reused in equipment of the same owner, but they don’t meet all the requirements for “reclaimed” refrigerants.
Reclaimed − Reprocessed refrigerant that meets or exceeds purity standards for new refrigerant gases.

After the refrigerants and other hazardous materials have been removed, these white goods end up at scrap metal sites with the rest of our more innocuous large appliances. Most large appliances are made from steel and contain copper and aluminum components that can be disassembled and sold for recycling. Recycled steel is used in car parts, building materials, and bridges. Recycled copper is found in electrical wiring, new appliances, and plumbing fixtures, and recycled aluminum becomes car parts, electronics, and construction materials.

In the United States, it is estimated that roughly 9 million refrigerators/freezers, 6 million window air conditioning units, and nearly 1 million dehumidifiers are disposed of each year. Proper removal and disposal of these appliances:

Prevents ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases from ending up in the atmosphere.
Prevents the release of forever chemicals (like PCBs), mercury, and used oil.
Saves landfill space and energy by recycling rather than landfilling durable materials (i.e., metals, plastics, and glass).
Reduces energy consumption.

Source: Disposing of Appliances Responsibly | Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD) | US EPA

How to Dispose of White Goods Responsibly

First things first, if your appliance is on the fritz, consider repair before disposal. These days, appliances aren’t built to last as long as they used to – it’s sad but true. That said, there are repair options that can save you money and keep your appliance in use for as long as possible. YouTube has a world of repair tutorials, and local repair shops still exist.🧑🏻‍🔧Check them out!

If your appliance has died (RIP 😞), the best way to figure out how to responsibly get rid of it is to check your city/town website (search “[city/town name] white good collection,” or “[city/town name] appliance collection”). There, you will find what types of appliances are allowed, how to set up an appointment for collection, where to take them for drop-off, and/or if there are any associated fees. Remember, most white goods cost money to dispose of due to the extra handling involved, so fees are standard in many municipalities.

You can also check Beyond the Bin for recycling outlets near you.

Shoutout to the 288 cities and towns that collected over 26,000 tons of large appliances and scrap metal in 2024! 🎉

Source: Recycling & Solid Waste Data for Massachusetts Cities & Towns

If you are buying a new appliance, make sure to ask the company if they will take the old one when they deliver your new unit. Most do!

And of course, if you are just upgrading and have a working unit, consider selling it secondhand on sites like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. You can also donate it! Ask your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore if they will accept it, or post it on Freecycle or a local gifting group page.

Last Question: Why Must the Doors Be Removed?

Have you ever wondered why you are instructed to remove the doors from refrigerators when you set them out for collection? If you are a child of the 80s and 90s, you probably know – apparently, you all were terrified of suffocating to death in an abandoned fridge! Turns out, you were right to be afraid. In fact, laws requiring door removal prior to disposal or “before keeping it out of doors for sale or any other purpose in a place accessible to unattended children” were written to protect kids from that grisly fate. For the specifics, read Mass general laws c. 271, § 46.

Spotlight on Salvage: Carey Company Inc.

Did you know that the waste produced by demolishing one average-sized house is equivalent to the trash generated by one person over their lifetime? Think about that. One lifetime of trash produced on one afternoon.

This month we’re spotlighting custom home builder Carey Company Inc., who’s working to change that out on Nantucket Island. With the help of a Reduce, Reuse, Repair Micro-Grant, they piloted their first deconstruction project to see how much of a home could be salvaged for reuse on the island. Deconstruction is an alternative to demolition. Instead of bulldozing a four-bedroom home and sending everything to a landfill or incinerator, Carey Company carefully took apart and saved what they could – wooden flooring, doors, cabinets, granite countertops – and distributed those materials to the Nantucket community for reuse. They also rescued all the appliances (yay!) and many light fixtures.

All in all, they kept about 30% of the house out of the trash! And this is just the beginning: they’ve got more deconstruction projects on the horizon and hope to salvage a bigger portion with each one. Get the full story by reading this case study and recent article.

📚What We’re Reading

Enjoy the rest of summer!

The Recycle Smart MA Team at MassDEP