A North Yorkshire waste management company is playing a major part in ensuring the region's fridge mountain is reduced.

Yorwaste Limited, of Northallerton, has signed an agreement with P&O Closed Loop Logistics to deal with its stockpile of obsolete fridges and freezers.

About 29,000 fridges are being stored at a Yorwaste storage facility at Hessay, near York, but as part of the deal the appliances are now being taken to a new fridge recycling facility on Teesside.

Hundreds of fridges are being sent daily to the P&O Closed Loop Logistics plant on the Cowpen Industrial Estate, in Billingham.

The company has the approval of the Environment Agency to store the appliances until its plant becomes fully operational early next month.

Thousands of old fridges and freezers will be shredded by a special machine that safely removes all harmful CFC gases and recycles components such as glass, metal and plastic.