Why RRA?

When grave environmental risks confronted major stakeholders in the refrigeration and air conditioning industry it became apparent there was no clear path forward. To help, industry formed (in 1993) a new body – RRA.

RRA has authorisation from the ACCC to operate. Authorisation was initially granted for 10 years, and was recently renewed.

Why was RRA necessary?

Even though legislation requiring recovery of old refrigerants was passed in Australia in the late 1980s, there were no:

• reprocessing or destruction facilities available to handle the gases
  
  
• systems in place for safely collecting, storing or destroying old refrigerants.
  

This meant that wholesalers:

• had to use their premises as warehouses to store returned material, which they
  could not get rid of
  
  
• were covering the additional costs of, and carrying the burden relating to,
  enforcing the legislation.
  

It seemed easier for industry to vent surplus refrigerants into the atmosphere.