Recovering, reclaiming and recycling F gas
How to recover fluorinated gas (F gas) from equipment and get it reclaimed or recycled.
A technician with qualifications to work with F gas must recover F gases from equipment, including when it’s reached the end of its life.
You must recover F gas from:
- commercial or industrial refrigeration systems
- refrigeration systems in trucks, trailers, ships and other vehicles
- stationary air conditioning (fitted to buildings and can’t be moved)
- portable or mobile air conditioning systems
- stationary heat pump systems (fitted to buildings and can’t be moved)
- stationary fire protection systems (for example, automatic fire suppression systems in large buildings)
- high voltage switchgear
For equipment not listed above, F gas must be recovered if it’s technically feasible and the cost is proportionate.
You must use a registered waste carrier to send the recovered waste F gas (or the whole unit) to a licensed waste facility that accepts waste F gas and ozone-depleting substances (ODS).
You can email f-gassupport@environment-agency.gov.uk for advice.
It is against the law to release F gas into the atmosphere on purpose unnecessarily. If you do, you could be prosecuted or get a civil penalty. See the Environment Agency enforcement sanctions policy.
If you see someone release F gas into the atmosphere on purpose, report it to f-gassupport@environment-agency.gov.uk.
Recovering F gas from aerosols
It’s not cost effective to recover F gas from individual aerosols like spray paints or deodorants.
If you collect or use large quantities, you should send them to a licensed waste facility that accepts waste F gas and ODS so they can get it reclaimed, recycled or destroyed.
Get your F gas reclaimed or recycled
Reclaimed F gas is reprocessed to the standard of virgin (unused) F gas.
You can send recovered F gas to a licensed waste facility that accepts waste F gas and ODS to get it reclaimed, recycled or destroyed.
If you do, you must use a registered waste carrier.
This applies to both:
- F gas that can be removed from equipment and transported separately
- F gas incorporated into the equipment, for example in foam
The rules apply to all:
- refrigerants
- hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used in foam insulation
- HFCs used in fire protection systems
- sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) from high voltage switchgear
- propellants from aerosols
- solvents
Using recycled F gas
Recycled F gas is re-using F gas following a basic cleaning process.
Recycled F gas with a global warming potential of more than 2,500 can only be used in equipment owned or operated by the:
- company that owned the refrigeration system from which the F gas was recovered
- company that carried out the recovery
Calculate the carbon dioxide equivalent quantity of an F gas using its global warming potential.
Last updated 18 April 2023 + show all updates
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Changed the links for licensed waste facilities from the Environmental Permitting Regulations – Waste Operations to a new GOV.UK page called ‘Licensed waste facilities that accept waste F gas and ODS’. Made minor tweaks to content for clarity including deleting duplicated content.
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Removed outdated dates. Updated links to find licensed waste facilities. Updated page to improve flow of information.
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First published.