Foam Recovery and Destruction Program
This page last reviewed October 25, 2011
This page provides a list of documents related to the Foam Recovery and Destruction Program.
Legislation
California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB32) (PDF 110KB)
ARB Publications
Early Action Report (complete
final) (PDF 1.92MB)
Early Action Report (foam
recovery and destruction sector) (PDF 45KB)
ARB Concept Paper
Foam Recovery and Destruction Program Draft Concept Paper (PDF 58KB)
Reference Documents for Foam and Global Warming Issues
The following documents,
studies, and reports have been used
by the California Air Resources Board to inform decisions concerning
the
impact of waste insulating foam on global warming. (note: some of these
documents are quite large)
The
Foam End-of-Life Issues report was produced upon request by the parties
to
the Montreal Protocol to provide useful information on the handling and
destruction of ODS contained in thermal insulation foam, which is
summarized in
this report. The report focuses on economic and technological aspects
of foam and foam gas destruction, but avoids
analyzing recovery and collection methods for waste foam. A useful
document for general background on
foam issues as they relate to potential global warming.
UNEP
Report
of the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel May 2005, Volume
3, Report on the Task Force of Foam End-of-Life Issues (PDF
844
KB)
Researchers showed that under certain anaerobic conditions in test
tubes designed
to replicate a landfill, CFCs and HCFCs in waste foam can attenuate to
HFCs that have lower ozone-depleting and global warming potentials.
Attenuation
of Fluorocarbons Released from Foam Insulation in Landfills
(PDF 238 KB) and Capacity
for Biodegradation (PDF 194 KB)
A more detailed version of the landfill attenuation research report is
also available: Attenuation
of Alternative Blowing Agents in Landfills (PDF 2 MB - note
large file)
Researchers investigated
release of foam-blowing agents from appliances during the
shredding process at the time of recycling. Approximately 25 percent of
all blowing agent in appliance insulation is released at the time of
shredding, prior to any landfilling of waste foam.
Release
of Fluorocarbons from Insulation Foam in Home Appliances during
Shredding (Abstract only. Website membership required for
full text)
Chapter 7 of
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Technology and
Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) Safeguarding the Ozone Layer and the
Global Climate System –
Issues Related to Hydrofluorocarbons and Perfluorocarbons analyzes current and future uses of
non-ozone-depleting substance foam blowing agents, particularly HFCs.
Topics include banks and
emissions of HFC-containing foam, possible usage trends, and uses in
building and appliance insulation.
The full TEAP report also contains chapters on refrigeration,
residential and commercial air conditioning and heating, mobile air
conditioning, medical
aerosols, and fire suppressants.
Researchers investigated the ability of landfill gas methane collection
and combustion systems to combust or break down CFCs and HCFCs into
their separate components. Destruction efficiencies greater
than 90 percent were reported for CFC-11, CFC-12, and HCFC-22: Landfill
Gas Combustion Study, Calgary Canada (PDF 314 KB).
