DALMATIA — As she watched her old refrigerator being taken away to be recycled, Mary Anne Smeltz had mixed feelings.
Her ancient General Electric was more than 35 years old, and it was chosen to be the first one to go in PPL Electric Utilities’ refrigerator-freezer recycling program. Following Thursday’s ceremonial cutting of the electric cord by Tom Stathos, PPL director of customer programs and services, the old faithful fridge was loaded onto a truck and consigned to recycling.
“There go a lot of memories,” she said as two workers from JACO Environmental rolled it onto the truck’s lift gate. “I raised a family with it.”
Smeltz, a retired Line Mountain teacher, said she and her husband, Dennis, got the refrigerator free when they moved into their home along Route 147 some 35 years ago. For the past decade or so, it has been in the basement of her home, keeping drinks and canning supplies cold.
“It was our first fridge, and someone told me if we went up to her grandmother’s house in Oaklyn, near Sunbury, we could have it,” said.
According to PPL’s Stathos, about 95 percent of the old unit will be recycled. Only a few pieces of insulation and the rubber door gasket will wind up in a landfill, he said.
In the new program, PPL customers can have their old refrigerator or freezer hauled away free and receive a $35 rebate, Stathos said. Customers can expect to save up to $150 on their electric bills by retiring old, inefficient equipment, he said.
“I have a funny job,” he said. “I encourage customers to use less of our product.”
PPL and other electric utilities are required by Act 129 to file a plan for consumption reduction targets, Stathos said. They must reduce consumption by 1 percent by 2011 and 3 percent by 2013, he said. PPL has proposed 14 measures that include energy efficiency, conservation, peak load reduction measures, programs and education, all of which are voluntary for customers.
The appliance recycling program is one of those measures. Over the next few years, PPL hopes to collect up to 70,000 units for recycling.
Sam Sirkin is senior program manager for JACO Environmental, the recycler selected by PPL to dispose of recycled appliances. He said JACO, with headquarters in Portland, Ore., operates similar programs for 50 utility companies nationwide.
“We de-manufacture appliances, sending almost all the parts to remanufacturing,” Sirkin said. “We get rid of the greenhouse gases and heavy metals, as well as any toxic or environmental hazards.”
Before loading the Smeltz’s refrigerator, the JACO workers smashed the temperature control module and cut off the door gaskets to permanently disable the unit.
According to PPL, a 20-year-old refrigerator uses up to 1,400 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, while newer, energy efficient units consume from 400 to 500 per year. PPL residential consumers are paying about 8.2 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity, so the newer model will cost about $75 less to operate each year.
PPL Electric utilities Customers can schedule a free pickup of their old, working refrigerator, freezer or room air-conditioner by calling 1 (877) 270-3522.
-- E-mail comments to wlaepple@dailyitem.com
News
Related Photos
-
Matthew Harris / The Daily Item
Discussion
Give PPL old refrigerator, receive $35 rebate
- News
-
-
Lewisburg schools face cuts in personnel, programs
Superintendent Mark DiRocco told the Lewisburg school board Thursday night that a proposed block grant system of school budget funding will run the district short of cash that will have to be made up through personnel and program cuts.
-
Mom: Keller's response left her cold
Like many people, Elise Nicol is concerned about Marcellus Shale and the industry's effects on Pennsylvania's environment. The Lewisburg mother of two cares about it enough that she sent an email to state Rep. Fred Keller, R-85 of Kreamer, asking him to oppose House Bill 1950, which passed the General Assembly on Wednesday.
-
Point Township authority concerned by sewer plant violations
Point Township Sewer Authority members Thursday night expressed concerns about a Feb. 3 letter sent to the Northumberland Sewer Authority by the state's Department of Environmental Protection saying that the borough authority has violated the Clean Streams Act.
-
Persing truck fee idea stalls
While Pennsylvania has passed legislation allowing communities to collect impact fees in 35 counties, Northumberland County is not one of them, and business leaders and lawmakers do not think Sunbury Mayor David Persing's plan to try to do his own version of an impact fee will pass muster.
-
Barber draws a crowd
The talk can be spirited at times, ranging from hunting to sports to home repairs. "You hear all kinds of stories," Gene Koehler, of Riverside, said Thursday as he waited for a haircut at The Masters barbershop, 209 Mill St.
-
State board approves table games at Valley Forge casino
VALLEY FORGE — A casino resort scheduled to open this spring in the Philadelphia suburb of Valley Forge has been approved for table games.
-
Doctors telling more adults: Get out and exercise
ATLANTA — A new study shows more and more U.S. adults are being told by their doctor to get off their duffs and exercise. A government survey found nearly 33 percent of adults who saw a doctor in the previous year said they were told to exercise. That was up from about 23 percent in 2000.
-
Former Northumberland County judge and three others die in Florida crash
EVERGLADES CITY, Fla. -- A former Northumberland County judge was one of four people killed Wednesday afternoon when their car collided with a van at an intersection, according to the Naples News. The victims were identified as James J. Rosini, 66, William J. Rosini, 68, Patricia C. Rosini, 65, all of Coal Township, Pa., and Deborah A. Korbich, 59, of Elysburg, Pa.
-
Warden demotes four bosses
SUNBURY -- Northumberland County Prison Warden Roy Johnson was able to trim about $135,000 in expenses by demoting four supervisors. He said Wednesday that he found a way to cut costs without laying off any staff. "I cut out 120 hours of supervisors' pay each week, but I need to fill the correction officer positions," Johnson said.
-
DJ pumps up audience
Every Tuesday evening, Richard Grogg can be found spinning tunes at possibly the most well-attended dance in Snyder County. A resident at the Selinsgrove Center since 1988, the 57-year-old said the thing he likes most about selecting and playing music is "making people happy." "Some people come up and ask for requests," he said.
-
Agency closes adult center
PENNS CREEK -- Union and Snyder County caregivers have had to look farther and wider for another program that can offer respite because the Agency on Aging can no longer afford to provide the service. The adult daily living center at the Penns Creek Adult Resource Center was a helpful program each week to about eight adults from the area dealing with Alzheimer's and dementia. But it closed Dec. 30.
-
New Berlin pushes to acquire school
NEW BERLIN -- The Borough Council sold the property where the New Berlin Elementary School is to the precursor of the Mifflinburg Area School District for $1 back in 1950. It was deeded to the district for construction of a school.
- More News Headlines
-
Lewisburg schools face cuts in personnel, programs
