THE government is being urged by county council leaders to tackle a looming crisis over disposing of thousands of old fridges in Dorset.

A new European law has ruled that from January 1, 2002, all CFC substances built into fridges and freezers must be removed and disposed off.

The technology required to do this is not available in Britain and as a result the council could face massive bills for storing millions of fridges which can no longer be safely recycled.

Dorset County Council chiefs are urging the government to take action to prevent the crisis.

Waste managers at the council have called a conference at Kingston Maurward on Wednesday with leaders from councils in Dorset and the Environment Agency to discuss the situation.

But the council's waste manager Gary Simpson said: "Because of the EU directive councils are going to be presented with a major problem."

But council chiefs have warned that if they stop taking appliances in because they can no longer get rid of them even more fridges will pile up and they are pressing the government to provide subsidies to keep these trade-in schemes going.

The owner of Weymouth and Sherborne Recycling, which is contracted by the county council to run Dorset's waste disposal sites, said that the EU directive could cause an increase in fly-tipping.

Geoff Thompson said: "There is a strong possibility we will see an increase in fly-tipping."

People are being advised to take old fridges and freezers as usual to the council's household waste disposal sites.

And if they can't get them there they should contact the local waste collection authority who will take them away.