January ’25 at-a-glance … environment

Canada PFAS reports due Jan. 29

Canadian manufacturers and importers of PFAS must report information on 312 PFAS by Jan. 29. The new PFAS reporting rule requires all businesses with five or more employees, or more than $30,000 in annual gross revenue, to report.

NY State finalizes HFC regulations

New York State announced new regulations including prohibitions, reporting, and other requirements for HFCs to help achieve required statewide greenhouse gas emission limits.

Maine seeks comments on product stewardship

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection seeks comments on its Annual Product Stewardship Report by Feb. 13. The report covers a number of programs including lead-acid batteries, rechargeable batteries, electronic waste and packaging.

CARB expands F-gas reduction incentive program

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is investing $38.5 million for climate-friendly refrigerant technologies in commercial and industrial refrigeration facilities in the state through its F-gas Reduction Incentive Program (FRIP) Funding Guidelines. Stakeholder recommended changes include:

• The addition of ultra-low GWP air-cooled self-contained equipment for retail food refrigeration facilities.
• The reduction of the minimum existing refrigeration charge size for industrial process refrigeration, cold storage and other facilities to 500 pounds of high-GWP refrigerant.

Applicants must apply at the FRIP web portal on a first-come, first-serve basis. The first application window closes Jan. 31; the second application window closes March 3.

Update on EU/UK F-gases

NAFEM has been notified by the U.K. Foodservice Equipment Association that the U.K. does not have any timelines for implementing changes to its F-gas regulations that currently do not follow the EU F-gas regulations. Manufacturers have been urged to find alternative refrigerants to comply with the EU F-gas regulations in 2026.