R-22 refrigerant recovery
and destruction
Case study
Tradewater is a leading carbon offset project developer that specializes in the destruction of high global warming potential ozone depleting substances (ODS), specifically legacy refrigerant gases. In collaboration with T-MobileTM since Q4 2024, the two companies have successfully recovered and destroyed 4,326.59 lbs of R-22 refrigerant, equivalent to 3,461 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e) from HVAC equipment in decommissioned T-MobileTM sites.
This case study highlights this collaborative process, impact, and scalability.
Environmental Challenge
The Montreal Protocol, finalized in 1987, banned the production of ozone-depleting halocarbons such as R-22, but left millions of pounds of legacy gases unaddressed and without mandate or funding for safe disposal. As a result, these gases are continually reused in old, leaky equipment, stored in rusty cylinders, or intentionally vented into the atmosphere–supercharging global warming and harming the ozone layer.
With a global warming potential (GWP) 1,810 times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2), R-22 has a substanial climate impact.
Responsible handling and effective destruction at end of life are critical to preventing ongoing refrigerant emissions that will otherwise accelerate global climate change. According to a 2022 EGU report, the remaining stock of refrigerant banned under the Montreal Protocol is equivalent to 20 billion tCO2e; that’s about how much CO2e the entire United States emits over a 3-year period.
Project overview
To implement this project, Tradewater and T-MobileTM targeted sites that were actively being decommissioned, and which had large quantities of R-22 refrigerant being taken out of service as part of the decommissioning process. Tradewater then worked directly with the local mechanical contractors responsible for recovering the refrigerant from the HVAC systems which were being removed.
T-MobileTM contractors recovered the end-of-life refrigerant into cylinders provided by Tradewater, and Tradewater shipped the full cylinders to its warehouse facility in Chicago. From here, the recovered refrigerant was weighed, sampled, tested, and permanently destroyed at a hazardous material destruction facility.
After destruction, Tradewater worked with third party auditors to verify the process, with carbon offset credits then issued for the project on the ACR registry.
The impact
The project successfully recovered a total of 4,326 lbs of R-22 refrigerant, preventing the emissions of 3,461 tCO₂e.
This is equal to the emissions from consuming nearly 400,000 gallons of gasoline.
Without this collaborative effort, the collected R-22 would have been handled per Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Requirements; recycled and sold back into the market. In this scenario, this harmful ODS would ultimately leak into the atmosphere in the future. In projects like this one, the carbon offsets generated from the destruction of R22 are available to purchase back for use in net-zero commitments. This gives a partnering company access to a source of high-quality carbon offsets that are generated from material inside the company’s own value chain with strong fidelity to their own carbon footprint.
Scalability
This partnership demonstrated that the process of recovering and destroying R-22 refrigerant can be easily integrated into decommissioning programs and effectively implemented across multiple sites. Since the targeted refrigerant was already slated for recovery from decommissioned HVAC assets, T-MobileTM had the simple task of directing its contractors to work with Tradewater on the collection of the material. This minimized the impact on T-Mobile’sTM capital and operating expenditure, requiring only a small adjustment to the decommissioning workflow.
In response to the success of the project to date, T-MobileTM plans to incorporate this process into future decommissioning and uplift projects across their portfolio.
Conclusion
The collaboration between Tradewater and T-MobileTM showcases a successful and impactful approach to managing ozone-depleting substances. By recovering and destroying end-of-life R-22 refrigerant, the project not only mitigated environmental impacts, but also set a precedent for scalable and sustainable practices in decommissioning programs. This model of recovery, collection, and destruction paves the way for companies to capture and destroy end-of-life refrigerants in a simple and systematic way across a large real estate portfolio. It’s an approach that prevents dangerous gases from reaching the atmosphere, playing a crucial role in long-term climate resilience.
© 2026 T-Mobile USA, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
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