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10 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday November 19, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Minister sends Bessie on her way By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF ARIANNE TOPS 20% off NOVEMBER SPECIAL: Chance to win a $100 Gift Certificate BRA FITTING EXPERTS from t-shirt bras to push-up bras Sizes A - JJ The 100,000th refrigerator to be recycled at the ARCA Canada Oakville facility received a proper send off last week as government officials and company executives turned out to see the fridge disappear into the crusher. For the past year, ARCA has been participating in the Great Refrigerator Roundup, an appliance-recycling program initiated by the Ontario Power Authority to help save Ontario 1,350MW by 2010 and 6,300MW by 2025. The program allows people to get rid of their old energywasting refrigerator, freezers and air conditioners for free in an environmentally-friendly way, something that was not lost on Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure George Smitherman as he toured ARCA's facility. "This is a great example of how conservation adds up for Ontarians," he said. "With the removal of these fridges, enough energy has been saved to power about 3,000 homes, nearly 100 new KAREN NEWMAN / OAKVILLE BEAVER IN ANOTHER LIFE: Ontario's Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure George Smitherman stands in front of the 100,000th fridge collected in the Great Refrigerator Roundup. He autographed the fridge before it was crushed. green collar jobs have been created and consumers collectively have saved about $3.5 million in energy costs in just one year." To kick off the ceremony, Smitherman turned his attention to one of the hundreds of old refrigerators, sitting on ARCA's conveyor belts waiting to be recycled. On the refrigerator door he signed his name and wrote 100,000 before helping to start the fridge on its journey. As Smitherman watched, the shelves were pulled out of the fridge after which a technician inserted a needle-like device into some of the fridge's tubing to extract the Freon. ARCA sends the Freon to Alberta for special neutralization. Sulfur dioxide, an extreme- SPECIAL OFFER Free 30 MinuteFacial with Every Holistic Treatment Sexy Sleepwear Sizes XS - XXL Treat yourself to a deeply relaxing and healing treatment. 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In the end all that remained of the 100,000th fridge, and two other fridges it was crushed with, was a block of twisted metal. Officials noted that little of the fridge will go unused, with more than 95 per cent of the material being recycled. The plastic becomes flowerpots for greenhouses, the steel is used to make rebarb for cement and the steel from the fiberglass units is used for coil stock in automobiles. "The thing about conservation is that it's often invisible. Most people can't see conservation in action, but today we saw it, we felt it, we heard it and it was great," said Peter Love, Ontario's first Chief Energy Conservation Officer. Love noted the program was a success because it passed the three Es test. "The first E is economics. People are saving up to $120-$150 per year when they get rid of that old fridge," he said. "I'm not sure exactly what you're going to do with you're $150 bucks, but I'm sure you'll find some good use for it." Love noted, the second E stands for employment and can be seen in the jobs created in Oakville through the development of the ARCA facility. The third E stands for the environment, which Love said could be seen in the reduction of the demand 100,000 power guzzling refrigerators had on the province's power grid. While most people at the ceremony were with the provincial government or ARCA, there was one person who had a personal stake in the event. Charlotte Haight was the owner of the 100,000th fridge that was processed during the ceremony. Haight said she had heard about the Great Refrigerator Roundup on the radio and believed it was a good way to get rid of her 17-year-old fridge, which she calls Bessie. Since her fridge was the 100,000th turned in to the ARCA facility she, as its owner, was invited to see it decommissioned. "I think it's coming back," she said. "It's being recycled and I know that the next product I buy will be her." There is no lack of demand for the service ARCA provides with its Vice President and General Manager Joe Berta noting there are still 1.9 million energy inefficient appliances that he is aware of waiting to be picked up. With 400 appliances being processed by ARCA each day, the Oakville facility expects to be busy for a long time.