The ongoing shortage of specialist processing capacities mean that many people are struggling to recycle fridge and freezers, says the Local Government Authority (LGA).
Local councils are calling for recycling schemes to get back on track as discarded appliances are beginning to pile up at waste centres.
Cllr Arooj Shah, Chair of the LGA’s Neighbourhoods Committee, said: “It is not right that residents who are trying to do the right thing can’t take old or broken appliances to their local recycling centre due to failures elsewhere in the system.
“Producers must urgently get collections back on track and cover every additional cost councils face. The Government must ensure they meet their responsibilities and put proper contingency arrangements in place.”
The problem is especially prevalent at this time of year as fridges and freezers are most likely to fail during hot weather.
The extreme and prolonged heat this summer means councils have had to set up temporary storage as they ask residents to delay disposing of appliances.
The disruption follows the closure of many appliance recycling facilities and a wider lack of capacity at those that are still open.
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