COMPANIES which need to scrap their old commercial refrigerators can now do their bit for the environment thanks to a Sheppey firm.

The Bond Group, a cold-cabinet refurbishment company in Dorset Road, Sheerness, has launched a recycling scheme for coldrooms and large refrigerators under the new 'environmental acceptability' requirements of the European regulation E C Directive 2037/2000.

Government funding is available to local councils to deal with storage and disposal of domestic fridges but businesses with a 'duty of care' to dispose of their cabinets responsibly have no such help.The Bond Group is creating a receiving area for all types of scrap cabinets which will be dismantled for shipping to a recycling centre.

Chris Woollett, managing director, told the magazine Air Conditioning and Refrigeration News that if the scheme is successful they will consider investing in their own automated plant for dismantling the units.

An initial price list shows a charge of £61 to scrap a 4ft cabinet and £104 for a 12ft cabinet - delivered by the customer to Bond's premises and supplied intact.