Compressor & Sealed Unit Scrap

Drained, degassed, non-CFC refrigeration and AC compressors — nothing else

The compliance rule is the whole of this trade. A sealed unit is a hermetic compressor — motor and pump welded inside a steel shell — pulled from a refrigerator, freezer, chiller or air-conditioner, and it is lawful metal scrap only once the oil has been drained, the refrigerant recovered and the unit confirmed as non-CFC. An undrained unit still holding compressor oil or refrigerant is not metal scrap under the Basel Convention: it is hazardous waste under entries A1010, A1180 and A4090, and it moves on an entirely different legal footing. Pakistan is explicit about it. SRO 628(I)/2024 of 30 April 2024 put undismantled compressor scrap contaminated with oil, gas and other hazardous liquids on the banned list, and the Import Policy Order separately bans CFC-based compressors. The lawful line is PCT 7204.4940, "waste and scrap of compressors", at 0% customs duty, 4% regulatory duty for 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, and 18% sales tax. Customs attention on that line is high — examiners have found new goods hidden inside containers declared as compressor scrap — so a lot has to look on examination exactly like its paper. Every lot we broker therefore carries three documents before it is priced: a degassing and oil-drain certificate from the processing yard, a radiation-free certificate, and the HS classification confirmed in writing by the buyer's customs broker.

Once the paper is right, sealed units are a steel-and-copper purchase. The shell and internal pump are steel and cast iron and make up the large majority of the weight; the motor winding inside gives the copper, commonly around 5–10% of unit weight on the trade's working figures, with a little aluminium in some designs — and the figure for an actual lot comes from cutting a sample. The buyers are hand-dismantling melters in Pakistan and India who crack the shell, pull the winding for the copper refiner or rod caster and send the steel to an induction furnace. Origin decides the paperwork. In the USA, 40 CFR 82.155 requires refrigerant to be recovered before final processing and lets the scrap processor hold a signed statement that it was, so every US load should travel with that statement alongside the drain certificate; US yard indications for sealed units ran around $0.48/lb (≈ $1,058/t) in June 2026, with appliance-grade units quoted far lower because of the steel weight. The UK is workable through exporters approved by the Environment Agency for compressors, and since 1 July 2026 every green-list exporter in Great Britain also registers its expected exports with the Agency. The EU is different: sealed units are not green-list material. Since the Basel e-waste amendments took effect on 1 January 2025, depolluted compressors are Y49 and need prior notification and consent, while undepolluted ones are A1181 and cannot go to non-OECD countries at all — so an EU seller offering sealed units to South Asia on Annex VII paperwork is offering the wrong paper. Containers load at around 20–24 MT per 40ft, lower where road limits at origin apply; freight is container freight quoted through lines and forwarders, and Pakistani buy offers typically specify LC at sight.

Need the ship as well? Our chartering desk prices scrap freight, bulk ships and containers on LaycanDesk.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.