Wren | Refrigerant destruction
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Refrigerant destruction
This project permanently destroys harmful refrigerants ( CFCs, HCFCs, and HFCs) that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere—fighting global warming and helping to restore the planet's ozone layer.
Refrigerants are classified as ozone-depleting substances—chemicals that degrade our planet’s ozone layer, which protects the earth from ultraviolet radiation. Refrigerants are also potent greenhouse gases that cause global warming thousands of times faster than CO₂.
By preventing these refrigerants from entering the atmosphere, this project restores the ozone layer—reducing the global risk of skin cancer, and protecting terrestrial carbon sinks—while fighting climate change in the process.
In 1987, The Montreal Protocol triggered the global phase-out of refrigerants, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), from production and use. More recently, in 2016 the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol instigated the phase out of yet another refrigerant class, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). But unfortunately, there are no good mechanisms or exhaustive mandates in place to ensure phased-out refrigerants are disposed of safely.
Globally, CFCs are no longer allowed to be produced or used. Despite this, remaining CFC refrigerants are either stored in leaky, aging containers or used in old equipment. Over time these refrigerants will leak into the atmosphere, causing ozone destruction and global warming. It’s estimated that the leakage of phased-out CFC refrigerants from storage facilities could contribute 10 Gt of CO₂e to the atmosphere and delay the recovery of the ozone layer by 6 years. Our partner, Tradewater, addresses this issue by locating CFCs and destroying them so they can no longer do harm to our planet.
On the other hand, the phase-out of HCFCs is more recent. Only in 2020 were developed countries mandated by the Montreal Protocol to stop the production of new HCFC refrigerants. Developing countries are allowed to produce and use these gases until 2030. In the US, our partner A-Gas is helping to phase out HCFC refrigerants and accelerate the use of more environmentally friendly refrigerants. By taking HCFC-22 out of circulation, we are permanently reducing the supply of the HCFC-22 available on the market.
HFCs are the next class of refrigerants being phased down. Under the Kigali Amendment, countries are required to phase down the production and consumption of HFCs by 80-85% by the late 2040s.
Carbon market finance is currently the only incentive to destroy these substances. Without projects like this one, these harmful refrigerants will continue to contaminate the atmosphere and accelerate climate change.
Prefer listening to a podcast? Listen to BBC Radio's People Fixing the World episode about one of our project partners, Tradewater.
How does it work?
Wren users are helping three different companies tackle the issue of refrigerants. While geographically diverse, our partners follow these general steps to prevent these harmful greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere:
Sourcing and collection: Our partners are either locating stockpiles of unused refrigerants or coordinating with technicians to gather refrigerants from decommissioned or serviced devices.
Transportation and destruction: All canisters and tanks of gases, even those leaking, are transported to a certified facility. This facility is equipped to destroy the refrigerant with a 99.99% efficiency rate.
Verification and validation: To ensure accurate environmental impact reporting, a verifier is dispatched to the destruction site. This individual meticulously reviews all data and inspects the machinery, confirming the truth of the greenhouse gas reduction claims.
For a more detailed breakdown of how each of our refrigerant destruction partners operate, expand the sections below.
How Tradewater destroys refrigerants
We support Tradewater projects in Thailand, Honduras, and the United States. Here’s an example of one project in Honduras:
In September 2022, our project partner collected close to 500 disposable cylinders full of CFC-12 from a vehicle and machinery company in Honduras that was unable to use or sell the refrigerant it had purchased in 2004.
The cylinders were then transported to an UN-approved high-temperature incineration facility in France where the CFC was destroyed with 99.997% destruction and removal efficiency.
In November 2022, the project was validated and verified using a methodology developed by the American Carbon Registry. Wren purchased a portion of the resulting carbon credits in December 2022.
If this project hadn’t destroyed these harmful refrigerants, these disposable cylinders would corrode over time, eventually releasing CFC-12 into the atmosphere—causing global warming.
How A-Gas destroys HCFC-22 refrigerants
We support A-Gas projects in the United States and South Korea. Here’s an example of one project in the United States:
Beginning in January 2023, our project partner collected cylinders of HCFC-22 from sites across the United States, aggregating them in Rome, Texas for shipment to the state-of-the-art destruction facility in Bowling Green, Ohio.
On February 27, 2023, A-Gas began destroying HCFC-22 using their state-of-the-art PyroPlas® technology. The destruction continued to occur throughout the month of March, concluding on April 2, 2023.
To confirm the GHG removal benefits of the project, a validator from First Environment visited the Bowling Green, Ohio facility to validate the project's impact. Once the impact is verified, A-Gas and the validator send documentation of the destruction event to the American Carbon Registry to further confirm the impact of the project.
Wren users will fund the full project activities, destroying 16,000 tonnes of CO₂e, and helping to prevent global warming
Many canisters are found in compromised states. Rust leads to leaks, which release the refrigerants into the atmosphere.
Why this project?
Destroying refrigerants is a cost-effective way to address the climate crisis. That’s why Wren supports companies working to collect and permanently dispose of CFCs, HCFCs, and HFCs. Our partners all effectively accomplish this work in different parts of the globe. Learn more about each of our partners below.
Why we partner with Tradewater
CFC-11 (CCl3F, Trichlorofluoromethane) is 4,750 times more potent than CO₂ and CFC-12 (CCl₂F₂, Dichlorodifluoromethane) is 1 0,900 times more potent than CO₂—no, that's not a typo—so destroying it is important. ( American Carbon Registry)
In 1996, The Montreal Protocol banned high-income countries from producing and importing CFC-12 and CFC-11. Lower-income countries were subsequently banned from producing and importing the CFCs in 2010. However, there was no mandate against continued use of already produced and imported material. Therefore, their use in old equipment and storage of the substance in aging equipment and storage containers has resulted in continued emissions of CFCs.
A 2020 study estimates that the existing quantity of CFC-11 and CFC-12 is equivalent to 9 billion tonnes of CO₂—that’s about 25% of yearly global CO₂ emissions!
By destroying CFC-11 and CFC-12, this project mitigates some of those potential emissions—permanently avoiding tens of thousands of tonnes of CO₂e from reaching the atmosphere.
Why we partner with A-Gas
HCFC-22 (CHClF2, Chlorodifluoromethane) is 1,764 times more potent than CO₂. In January 2020, the Montreal Protocol mandated the US to halt the production and import of HCFCs. However, the harmful gas is still used in refrigerant and air conditioning systems across the United States and can be recycled and reused, despite the availability of non-ozone-depleting alternatives ( EPA, 2018).
Wren is excited about this project because it creates systems change. By decreasing the supply of HCFC-22 that can be recycled and resold via destruction, we are pushing the market toward the adoption of more environmentally friendly options. What’s more, this project is one of the first of its kind. It utilizes a rigorously peer-reviewed methodology that was approved in February 2023 by the American Carbon Registry, just days before our project kicked off. In June 2024, Wren added a second A-Gas project to its portfolio, which destroys CFCs in South Korea.
In the absence of this project, the gases Wren users paid to destroy would continue to circulate and eventually leak potent GHGs into the atmosphere, accelerating climate change.
The carbon credits we purchased are generated according to three different methodologies; the American Carbon Registry’s Methodologies for the Destruction of Ozone Depleting Substances from International Sources and the Destruction of Ozone Depleting Substances and High-GWP Foam, and Yale Carbon Containment Lab’s Methodology for the Recovery and Destruction of Hydrofluorocarbon Refrigerant Gases in Article 5 Countries.
Each methodology was vigorously peer-reviewed Wren also reviewed these methodologies independently and spoke with experts to identify any hidden risks, such as perverse incentives, associated with this project. We didn’t find any.
Refrigerant destruction projects are some of the highest-quality, most impactful, and lowest-cost carbon offset projects available.
Based on our research, we believe refrigerant destruction projects are some of the highest-quality, most impactful, and lowest-cost carbon offset projects available. And experts agree. An independent review of Tradewater’s projects finds their carbon credits are highly credible and directly result in reductions in atmospheric concentrations of GHG. What’s more, the carbon credits generated under ACR’s methodology for the Destruction of ODS from International Sources have achieved a Core Carbon Principles label from the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market.
Refrigerant destruction prevents harmful gases from reaching the atmosphere, restores the ozone layer, and reduces global rates of skin cancer.
Old Refrigerators Warm the Planet and They Must Be Destroyed | World Wide Waste | Business Insider - YouTube
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Old Refrigerators Warm the Planet and They Must Be Destroyed | World Wide Waste | Business Insider Business Insider
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Press mentions
On e overlooked way to fight climate change? Dispose of old CFCs
The best climate solution you've never heard of
Project updates
Jan2026
What our projects are working toward in 2026
Looking to the new year, Wren subscribers will help scale climate solutions, advocate for smart policy, and protect nature-based projects that deliver real, measurable impact....
Jan
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Oct2025
Destroying 38,309 tonnes of CO₂e to build a cooler, safer planet
To date, our partner A-Gas has destroyed 20,857 pounds of HCFC-22 on behalf of Wren subscribers, equivalent to 38,309 tonnes of CO₂e. Here's how that adds up....
Oct
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Jun2024
4000 kg refrigerants destroyed and an island in Fortnite
Together, we’ve destroyed a total of more than 4,000 kg of R12 and R11 refrigerants with our project partner, Tradewater...
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Show older updates
Where is the project located?
Our partners work all across the globe to source and destroy refrigerants.
In Honduras, Tradewater’s local partner, Servicios y Repuestos Europeos S.A. de C.V. (SYRE), collected and consolidated refrigerants in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The collected refrigerants were transported to the Tredi Séché destruction facility located at Rue Charles de Gaulle, 01150 Saint Vulbas, France. In Thailand, Tradewater’s local partner Waste Management Siam LTD (WMS) had original custody of the ozone-depleting substances, which were acquired from the Thai Customs Department. The material was destroyed at a WMS facility, located in the Samutprakarn province, in Bangpoo Environmental Complex Col. Ltd (BPEC).
In the United States, A-Gas worked with their subsidiary, Rapid Recovery, to collect gases from across the country. Those gases were consolidated at an A-Gas facility in Rome, Texas. They were then transported to their destruction facility at 1100 Haskins Rd, Bowling Green, OH 43402. In South Korea, A-Gas is also working on a future project for Wren.
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How is the money spent?
Receipts and documents
We keep a public record of all payment receipts we've received from our project partners. You can browse the receipt ledger here.
Our first partner, Tradewater, has facilitated the destruction of over 6.89 million tonnes of CO₂e, and they plan to annually prevent the release of 3 million tonnes of CO₂e funded entirely by carbon credits.
Tradewater cost breakdown
This project costs $21.25 USD per tonne of CO₂e. Tradewater blends financing between projects happening in 11 different countries. This is because depending on the specific substance a project targets, the cost per tonne of CO₂e can vary wildly. For example, some refrigerants cannot be imported or produced, but they can be recycled and used. This demand increases recovery costs for specific refrigerants, meaning Tradewater has to pay more to acquire them. Prices also vary depending on the project location and distance from a destruction facility approved by the Montreal Protocol’s Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP), a requirement for verifiably safe and efficient destruction. In the case of the project in Honduras, the CFC-12 was transported to a TEAP compliant facility in France.
Our second partner, A-Gas, is a world leader in the sustainable management of refrigerants. A-Gas has successfully completed over 30 greenhouse gas avoidance projects, generating over 13.89 carbon credits, with many more destruction projects in development.
A-Gas cost breakdown
This project costs $25 USD per tonne of CO₂e. A-Gas uses these funds to send technicians out into communities to source HCFC-22, transport the gas to the destruction facility, operate state-of-the-art PyroPlas® plasma arc destruction technology, and validate the impact of the project. The technicians also support the replacement of HCFC-22 with more environmentally friendly gases. All emissions from the transportation of the gases are deducted from the final tally of carbon credits that the project generates. We believe paying scientists to test the gases and measure the impact of the project increases the transparency and integrity of the project.
Canisters are destroyed in a high-tech, TEAP-compliant facility in France, as mandated by the Montreal Protocol.
Verification
All three of our partners use accredited, third-party verification and validation bodies to ensure precise quantification, monitoring, and reporting of greenhouse gas emission reductions or removals. These bodies follow a clear and consistent framework set out by the International Standards Organization.
Tradewater - Project Overview
Tradewater - Verification Statement
Tradewater - Credits in Active Accounts
Tradewater - Validation and Verification Report
Contact information
Kirsten Love, Tradewater, Contact via Linkedin
Brooke Willard, A-Gas, brooke.willard@agas.com
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Wren team member
If you have specific questions about Refrigerant destruction, our team is here to help answer them.
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