U.S. EPA Region 5 issued an Administrative Consent Order (ACO) to Top Metal Buyers, Inc. (Top Metal) to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA). EPA alleged that Top Metal accepted for recycling small appliances, such as refrigerators and room air conditioners, that contained or once contained ozone-depleting refrigerants, without either recovering the refrigerant from the appliances or verifying that the refrigerant had been properly recovered prior to sale to Top Metal, in violation of regulations found at 40 CFR 82.156. EPA issued a Finding of Violation to Top Metal on March 8, 2013. The ACO requires Top Metal to obtain refrigerant recovery equipment and to properly recover the refrigerant from appliances it accepts for scrap at its East St. Louis, Illinois facility, or to use verification statements or refrigerant recovery contracts. Top Metal's refrigerant recovery program is estimated to recover a minimum of 120 lbs of ozone-depleting refrigerants per year. Since the refrigerants used in small appliances are also potent global-warming gases, these resolutions will, in addition to protecting the ozone layer, have the added benefit of reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases equivalent to removing approximately 60 SUVs from the road for a year.