A MOUNTAIN of 1,500 fridges has already built up near York - just three weeks after new green legislation banned their destruction without specialist equipment.

Refrigerators from all over North Yorkshire and York are being stored in a hangar-style building at Hessay at the rate of 500 per week.

Tens of thousands of fridges and freezers may have to be held in storage there before new crushing machines become available which can break them up safely.

European environmental legislation was brought in on January 1 to prevent chloro-fluorocarbons (CFCs) being released into the atmosphere and damaging the ozone layer.

Previously, CFCs were removed from fridge coolants before being sent off for crushing by scrap metal merchants.

But the new legislation also takes account of CFCs present in the plastic foam used to insulate fridges until the mid-1990s. The gas can be released into the atmosphere during crushing.

So now local authorities are waiting for special equipment to be brought in which will remove CFCs from the foam during crushing. In the meantime, the fridges have to be stored safely.

Coun Derek Smallwood, City of York Council's executive member for the environment, said the storage arrangements had been made with waste management contractor Yorwaste, and were expected to last for up to 12 months until treatment facilities with CFC removal were built and commissioned.

"At the moment, one does not exist anywhere in this country," he said.

The building at Hessay had planning approval to be used for storage and, in partnership with North Yorkshire County Council, freezers and fridges collected free of charge would be transported there for storage out-of-sight and under cover.

Yorwaste said up to 40,000 to 50,000 could be stored in the vast building.

"The fridges will be stored safely and securely, in accordance with the Government's and Environment Agency's requirements," said Coun Smallwood.

Nationwide, the costs of storing fridges is expected to run into many millions of pounds, and a political row has been growing over the way the issue has been handled. Some calls have been made for a pause in the implementation of the EU directive.

Coun Smallwood said York council would be looking to ensure that the Government was aware of the ongoing costs of the storage arrangements, and of the urgent need for a treatment facility.

"The Government has contributed £17,000 towards the costs of storage for the last quarter of this financial year," he added.

* A Spokesman for Yorwaste and York council said they were not aware of fridge fly-tipping in the North Yorkshire countryside, a problem which has developed in some other parts of Britain in recent weeks. They stressed that fridges were being collected for free by councils, and also that people should not take old fridges direct to Hessay for dumping.

Updated: 08:17 Tuesday, January 22, 2002