A fascinating podcast about refrigerant reclamation in the United States of America

The podcast How to Save a Planet, which takes a more positive approach to climate change than the usual doom and gloom by covering ways which it can be and is being addressed, has an episode all about refrigerants that includes a method of refrigerant reclamation that seems quite alien to that established in Australia and, to an extent, New Zealand.

“We take a ride with a couple of guys who tackle these threats with a pair of extremely high-tech tools: a van, and some cold hard cash,” reads the description of a podcast episode titled ‘Cold Hard Cash for Your Greenhouse Gas’.

This is no clickbait. A company in the United States places small ads offering good money for old and unwanted refrigerant. They make no mention of the environment in case this discourages people from selling their refrigerant for safe destruction and often meet sellers after dark, in out-of-the-way places to pay for the refrigerant in cash.

Instead of getting refrigerant rebates, the company makes its money by selling the carbon credits it gets for destroying refrigerant to companies that need more of them in order to continue polluting.

This episode, and the broader How to Save a Planet series, is worthwhile, informative, entertaining and surprisingly uplifting given the weighty subject matter. Although it is very US-focused, many of the topics are relevant worldwide.

Overall, this podcast would make great listening for long road trips or idle time during the holidays.

Tune in here