PART of the North-East's old fridge mountain is being moved to the continent for disposal.

Durham County Council is spending almost a third of a million pounds on exporting thousands of used appliances to Europe.

The mountain is building up because new legislation requires the careful removal of the ozone layer-depleting substances used in pre-1996 fridges and freezers.

Britain has no specialist disposal sites, but parts of Europe are geared up to deal with the problem.

The council says it is one of the first in the country to act by signing a year-long contract with its disposal contractor Premier Waste Management to take up to 18,000 fridges to Germany at a cost of £17 per unit.

Work began last week on removing a stockpile of 7,000 old fridges.

Six lorry-loads a week, each carrying 180 fridges, will leave waste transfer stations at Annfield Plain, Thornley and Heighington.

Coun John Davies, lead cabinet member for waste management, said disposal plants were being built in Britain but it was not 'environmentally preferable' to build up a great stockpile while waiting for them to come online.

He said: "The Environment Agency has produced stringent guidelines on storage, ranging from the type of surface material on which they are stored and how they are stacked to security, fire prevention, drainage and cleaning

"After a great deal of research we decided that the most economic and sustainable method of disposal was through existing facilities in mainland Europe.''

Under the contract Rethmann, of Selm, near Dortmund, will oversee the operation from loading the fridges in County Durham, and shipping them via North Shields Dock and the Netherlands to final recycling and disposal in Germany.

Coun Davies said: "It may seem an elaborate and expensive way of getting rid of old fridges, but we have no option and there are currently no cheaper alternatives.

"If we wait until disposal plants are up and running in the UK, we would have mountains of old fridges springing up.''

The Local Government Association is lobbying the Government to provide funding for fridge disposal.