Refrigerant recovery

Refrigerant recovery means removing the refrigerant from a vehicle’s air-conditioning system with certified equipment instead of letting it vent to the air. In junk cars it is part of depollution.

As a seller you don’t do this yourself, but it affects the yard’s costs. Scrap processors expect proof or assurance that refrigerant was recovered before they accept a vehicle.

Federal rules require anyone recovering refrigerant from a motor vehicle air conditioner (MVAC) for disposal to use equipment meeting EPA standards. The final processor, such as a scrap recycler, must either recover any remaining refrigerant or verify that it was already recovered.¹