The US Court of Appeals has invalidated the ban on non-refillable cylinders in the United States
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rule to ban non-refillable cylinders in the US has been invalidated by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The ban was part of the US AIM Act, which aims to phase down the production and consumption of HFC refrigerants, and included provisions to ban the sale of disposable cylinders by the end of 2024 and to implement QR code tracking for individual cylinders in the supply chain. The EPA was challenged by three trade associations and a cylinder manufacturer, who claimed that the ban exceeded the EPA’s authority.
The court agreed with the challenges, and the EPA has been ordered to remove the relevant portions of the rule. HARDI, one of the trade associations, welcomed the decision and stated that its members had rejected the need for refillable cylinders and a complex tracking system. The EPA can still appeal the decision.
Non-refillable cylinders have been banned in many parts of the world due to environmental concerns, as they may contain a residue of refrigerant that can be released into the atmosphere. In Europe, where non-refillable cylinders have been banned since 2007, the ban led to a surge in illegal refrigerant imports with the non-refillable cylinder being the black marketeer’s container of choice due to its lower weight and cost.
The EPA argued that the ban was necessary to prevent illegal imports of HFCs, but the industry group claimed that the EPA was already equipped to combat illegal imports without burdening the entire HVACR supply chain. Despite this, HARDI and the entire HVACR industry remained supportive of the HFC phase and looked forward to working with the EPA to achieve the goals of the AIM Act to phase down the production and consumption of HFC refrigerants.