SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Like unwanted house guests who overstay their welcome, old refrigerators can get in the way and drain your resources.

Fortunately, they are easy to get rid of, thanks to a special Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) program that offers customers a $50 rebate to retire their aging refrigerator responsibly. It takes just one simple step to schedule an appliance pickup by PG&E's licensed recycler, JACO Environmental.

In addition, PG&E offers customers a $75 incentive to replace their clunker with an energy-saving new refrigerator that will lower their bills for years to come. The rebate is available on high-efficiency models that use at least 20 percent less energy than the new federal standard—less even than a 60 W light bulb.

An efficient new refrigerator can lower electric bills by nearly $100 a year compared to the average 15-year-old model it replaces, and almost $200 compared to a unit 25 years or older.

"More than 60 million refrigerators are over 10 years old, costing consumers $4.7 billion a year in energy costs," according to the federal Energy Star program. "If all refrigerators sold in the United States were ENERGY STAR® certified, the energy cost savings would grow to more than $400 million each year and 8 billion pounds of annual greenhouse gas emissions would be prevented, equivalent to the emissions from 750,000 vehicles."

Properly recycling old refrigerators offers many other environmental benefits as well. Recycling 25,000 refrigerators can collect as much aluminum as used in 2.1 million cans; provide raw materials for concrete, nails and even computers; and remove 250,000 pounds of foam insulation from landfills. Recycling also prevents hazardous oils, toxins, and ozone-depleting gases from escaping into the environment.

"Now is a great time for customers to take advantage of savings from PG&E to replace their older, energy-hungry refrigerator," said Vincent Davis, senior director for energy efficiency at PG&E. "November 15 is America Recycles Day, but every day is a good time to look at ways to reduce your energy use and bills while helping the environment."

PG&E also offers a few tips for saving energy with your refrigerator:

• Keep the condenser coils clean so they can expel heat to the outside air as efficiently as possible.
• Open your refrigerator doors only when you really need to.
• Keep your refrigerator full. If you have two at home, try to consolidate the contents and recycle the less efficient unit.
• Keep your refrigerator away from sources of heat, including direct sunlight, so it doesn't have to work as hard.
• Make sure your refrigerator has a tight seal. Close the door over a piece of paper; if you can pull the paper out, the seal may need replacing.

Learn more

To recycle your refrigerator and schedule a pickup, go to www.ApplianceRecycling.com/PGE or call 1-800-299-7573.

To learn more about rebates on high-efficiency refrigerators, call PG&E's Smarter Energy Line at 1-800-933-9555 to talk with an energy-efficiency advisor, or email smarter-energy@pge.com.

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.

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SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company