If you have an old, inefficient refrigerator or freezer running, now is a good time to get rid of it.

The Northern Indiana Public Service Co. is offering to pick up your refrigerator or freezer for free and give you $35 on top as part of a new program that started Tuesday.

The utility will take up to two appliances. They must be functioning and plugged in prior to pickup.

An old refrigerator or freezer uses an average of 700 to 1,600 kilowatt hours of energy annually. If a spare refrigerator used in a basement or garage is removed and not replaced, energy savings can amount to 1,200 kilowatt hours per year, saving $100 or more in annual electricity charges, NIPSCO said in a press release.

"Many customers are astounded when they learn how much more energy it requires to keep food and beverages cold in those secondary refrigerators and freezers normally stored in the garage or basement," said Guy Ausmus, senior vice president of customer engagement for NIPSCO. "Besides helping save energy and money, this program ensures that all units are safely dismantled and recycled in an environmentally responsible way."

NIPSCO's program partner, American Recycling Centers of America, will collect qualifying refrigerators and freezers and recycle the units. That will prevent more than 95 percent of the recyclable materials in the old units from entering the waste stream, NIPSCO said.

The appliance recycling home pickup program is part of NIPSCO's efforts to expand its lineup of energy savings programs.

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