Online electricals retailer AO welcomed BBC into its Telford fridge recycling plant for an episode of Inside the Factory this week.
In the episode, co-presenter Cherry Healey visited the state-of-the-art facility, which is one of the biggest of its kind in Europe, and learned how AO gives over 500,000 old fridges a new lease of life, each year.
Operations manager Darren Baden-Smith introduced her to Bertha – AO’s huge fridge crushing machine, which weighs 80 tonnes and can ‘eat’ up to 100 fridges per hour.
Group recycling director Rob Sant then gave Cherry a guided tour of the plastics processing plant, which uses cutting-edge technology to sort and refine fridge plastic, so that it can be turned into new products.
Meanwhile, director of commercial Dave Ware explained why fridge compressors need to be removed and disposed of in an environmentally responsible way, to ensure that dangerous gases don’t go into the atmosphere.
Elsewhere in the episode, Paddy McGuinness visited a factory in Northern Ireland to learn how they make more than half a million sausage rolls every day and historian Ruth Goodman revealed the interesting connection between sausage skin and Zeppelin airships of the First World War.
Rob Sant said: “It was an absolute pleasure to welcome Cherry and the Inside the Factory team to Telford so they could see Bertha in action and learn more about how we turn customers’ old fridges into brand new products.
“Seeing the plant on prime-time TV, on such a beloved series, is a fantastic experience and a testament to the brilliant work our AOers put in every day.”
The episode is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer. It will also be repeated on BBC Two, at 2.30pm on Sunday 9 February.
