Decommissioning or demolition: recover the refrigerant first
Before a building or plant with refrigeration or air conditioning is decommissioned or demolished, all of the refrigerant must be recovered by an F-gas certified technician. It belongs in the project schedule before strip-out and demolition. We plan it, arrange transport and paperwork, and deliver a certificate per site.
The short answer: take stock of which systems are on site and what they contain, have everything recovered before the demolition contractor starts, and make sure every cylinder goes to an accredited processor with a waste stream number and consignment note. Close out with a certificate and an updated logbook.
Why the refrigerant comes first
Deliberate release of F-gases is prohibited. Cutting a pipe while there is still gas inside is exactly that. The quantities are significant too: a cold store holding 500 kg of R404A represents almost 2000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.
Demolition sites often have several gases at once: R404A in cold rooms and freezer rooms, R134a or R410A in chillers and air conditioning, and R22 in older buildings. R22 is an HCFC, an ozone-depleting substance. Since 2015 it may not be used for servicing in the EU, not even reclaimed, and after recovery it goes to licensed destruction.
Cold stores have one more point. Since 2025, building owners and contractors removing insulation panels with F-gases in the foam must avoid emissions as far as possible and make sure those gases are destroyed. That is separate from the refrigerant, but belongs in the same demolition plan.
Timeline
- 01Inventory, ideally when the demolition plan is drawn up: which systems, which refrigerant, how many kilos. Use the logbooks. If they are missing, the technician establishes it on site.
- 02Planning: recovery sits in the project schedule before strip-out and demolition, with enough cylinders per gas type. The larger the charges, the earlier you book it.
- 03Recovery by an F-gas certified technician, recorded per system.
- 04Collection by a transporter on the VIHB register, with waste stream number and consignment note.
- 05Close-out: a certificate per site and an updated logbook with the recovered kilos and destination.
Paperwork
- Waste stream number: the number under which the waste stream is accepted and reported. Nothing leaves without one.
- Consignment note: travels with every load and states, among other things, the waste holder, carrier, processor, waste type and quantity.
- Certificate: per site, stating kilos, gas type, CO₂ equivalent and destination.
- Logbook: the quantity recovered and the measures taken to recover and dispose of the gas. Keep it for at least five years.
What we do
With Decommissioning you get one price per site, agreed upfront, even when there are several systems and gas types. We coordinate recovery by your certified installer or a partner, collection by a licensed carrier and all the paperwork. Clean HFC goes to reclamation. R22 and contaminated gas go to licensed destruction.
Frequently asked questions
Who is responsible for the refrigerant during demolition?
The operator of the equipment, usually the owner or occupier of the building. They must make sure the gas is recovered by certified personnel and then recycled, reclaimed or destroyed. In practice you agree this with the contractor or demolition firm, but the obligation sits with you.
What happens to R22?
Since 2015 R22 may not be used for servicing in the EU, not even reclaimed. Recovered R22 therefore goes to licensed destruction. We take it in the same collection, with the right paperwork.
What if the logbooks are missing?
Then the technician establishes on site which gas is in the systems and roughly how much. That adds some time to the planning. The kilos actually recovered appear on the certificate either way.