Upgrading the appliances in your home can be a great way to increase functionality and add value to your property. When you make the choice to invest in the purchase of a new refrigerator, you may find yourself wondering what to do with your old unit. Recycling your old refrigerator can be a simple and effective way to offset the cost of your new fridge and help to reduce landfill waste.

Here are three easy steps that you can take to recycle your old refrigerator in the future.

1. Remove hazardous fluids.

In order to function properly and keep perishable food items cool, many older refrigerator models relied on a gas known as Freon. This gas is stored in liquid form within your old refrigerator, and must be removed before the recycling process can begin.

Since there are strict rules in place governing the removal of Freon from old refrigerators, it's best to contact a professional who can help you set up recovery system to ensure you are complying with legal rules and regulations and to prevent Freon from escaping into the atmosphere.

2. Locate and remove copper wiring.

When it comes to recycling scrap metal for money, copper can be the most profitable type of metal to take to your local scrap metal recycling facility. The price of copper reached a record high of $4.50 per pound before finally stabilizing at around $4.00 per pound. You can take advantage of these high prices by locating and removing copper wiring from your old refrigerator.

Be sure that you take the time to strip the wiring of the plastic coating designed to insulate it in order to prevent this plastic insulation from negatively affecting the price your local scrap recycling facility is willing to offer for your old fridge's copper wiring.

3. Separate plastic components from metal ones.

Disassembling your old refrigerator in order to isolate metal components can help you get more money when scrapping this obsolete appliance. If the scrap metal recycling facility has to remove plastic components themselves, they will deduct labor costs from the amount they offer for your old fridge.

Spending the time to isolate metal panels and parts yourself will allow you to maximize the amount of money your old fridge is worth as scrap metal.

Taking the time to learn how you can prepare your old refrigerator for recycling will allow you to recoup some of the money you spent on your new fridge purchase and give you the opportunity to do your part to reduce landfill waste by letting a scrap metal recycling facility transform your old fridge into something useful.