Unitil Corporation, (Unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, was pleased with the high turnout at a recent turn-in event in Concord in which approximately 400 outdated or inefficient air conditioners and dehumidifiers were dropped off for recycling.
The event, which was held on Oct. 22 in the Home Depot parking lot in Concord, was the first of several being hosted by the NHSaves utility partners, which include Unitil, Eversource, Liberty Utilities, and New Hampshire Electric Cooperative.
Residential customers of the four utilities who brought their old, working room air conditioners or dehumidifiers to the event were able to drop them off for free and were eligible to receive a $30 incentive per unit.
They were limited to two room air conditioners and two dehumidifiers per residential account serviced by the NHSaves utility partners. NHSaves is a collaboration of New Hampshire’s electric and natural gas utilities working together to provide customers with information, incentives, and support designed to save energy, reduce costs, and protect the environment statewide.
Many of the more than 260 people who participated in this inaugural recycling event were Unitil customers.
“We’re glad to see that so many customers took advantage of this unique opportunity to recycle these units and receive the rebate,” said Alec O’Meara, Unitil’s media relations manager. “The participation in this turn-in event certainly exceeded our expectations. This event, which was the first of its kind in New Hampshire, had participation four to five times that of what we’ve seen when hosting similar events in the past.”
O’Meara pointed to factors that may have contributed to the success of the event. With rising energy costs, he said customers are looking for more ways to save, which includes replacing old equipment with units that are energy efficient. Unlike disposals at local transfer stations or special bulky day events held by municipalities, there was no fee and customers received a recycling rebate instead.
The event also appealed to customers looking for an opportunity to dispose of the unwanted units responsibly as they’ll be recycled.
While the first turn-in was held in Concord, which is part of Unitil’s service territory, customers can drop off items at any of the events.
Additional turn-in events have been scheduled and others are being planned and will be added as they are finalized. For more information and an updated list of upcoming events, visit nhsaves.com/learn/2022/10/2022-turn-in-events.
Photo cutline: Approximately 400 room air conditioners and dehumidifiers were dropped off for recycling at a turn-in event held on Oct. 22 at the Home Depot in Concord.
