Refrigerant Hunters Inc.

What Refrigerant Hunters Inc. does

Refrigerant Hunters Inc. is a Guelph, Ontario-based private company that purchases, collects, and arranges destruction of older refrigerant gases — primarily Class 1 CFCs such as R-12 (CFC-12), R-11, R-13, R-113, R-114, R-115, and R-500 — from individuals, businesses, and municipalities across Canada. Founded in 2020 by former elite athletes Craig Taylor and Dave Scott-Thomas (with a third team member, Dana), the company targets refrigerant stocks that have been sitting idle in basements, garages, barns, waste sites, autoshops, storage lockers, and rooftop chillers for decades, often destined to vent eventually into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases with global warming potentials exceeding 10,000x carbon dioxide.\n\nThe business is delivered as a three-step Hunt, Collect, and Destroy service. Refrigerants are acquired via in-person pickups across southern Ontario (cash payment on site) and via company-organized, paid national shipping for the rest of Canada (e-transfer payment before package release). Collected gas is transferred into secure reclaim tanks and incinerated at certified facilities achieving at least 99.99% destruction. The company also accepts reclaimed — but not virgin — stocks of R-22, R-134a, and R-410a in 100 lb+ volumes. All transactions operate under the company's ODP (Ozone Depleting Substances) licensing, a regulatory prerequisite for legally buying or selling ozone-depleting refrigerants in Canada destined for destruction, and the company provides documented purchase orders to sellers.\n\nRevenue is generated primarily through the sale of carbon offset credits issued for destruction of high-GWP refrigerant mass, augmented by economics on the underlying refrigerant purchase. The company is bootstrapped with no institutional funding disclosed, runs a three-person team, and operates coast-to-coast in Canada. Reported operational scale to date includes over six tons of R12 collected in the first two years, with a long-term public goal of mitigating one million tonnes CO2e — an objective aligned with Project Drawdown's identification of refrigerant management and destruction as one of the highest-leverage near-term climate strategies.

Name

Refrigerant Hunters Inc.

Legal name

Refrigerant Hunters

Website

https://refrigeranthunters.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Refrigerant Hunters Inc. purchases, collects, and arranges destruction of legacy Class 1 CFC refrigerants (primarily R-12) from individuals, businesses, and municipalities across Canada. Operating since 2020 from Guelph, Ontario, it funds operations through carbon offset credit sales under ODP licensing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Environmental Services

NAICS

Hazardous Waste Collection (562112), Waste Collection (56211)

SIC

Wholesale-Chemicals & Allied Products (5160)

akta.pro primary industry

Project-Originated Carbon Credit Marketing & Offtake (Primary Market) (EUAGAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Carbon Credit Brokerage & Trading (Spot, Forward, Structured Products) (EUABADAB), Carbon Removal Credits Trading (DAC, BECCS, Biochar, Mineralization) (EUAGAIAL)

Keywords

• Refrigerant collection services
• CFC disposal services
• Refrigerant destruction
• Carbon offset credits
• Ozone depleting substances

Headquarters

HQ city

Guelph

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Refrigerant Purchase and Destruction: The company purchases refrigerants from individuals, businesses, and municipalities. They incinerate the refrigerants at approved facilities (certified to destroy at least 99.99% of material), which generates carbon offset credits that fund their ongoing operations. Revenue comes from the sale of carbon offset credits generated by destroying potent greenhouse gases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Refrigerant Hunters buys eligible legacy CFC refrigerants (primarily R11, R12, R13, R113, R114, R115, R500) from individuals, businesses, and municipalities across Canada, collects them via in-person pickup in southern Ontario or prepaid shipping elsewhere, and incinerates them at approved facilities (≥99.99% destruction) to generate carbon offset credits. The company pays sellers rather than charging disposal fees, creating a financial incentive for proper disposal of high-GWP greenhouse gases.

Product overview

Refrigerant Hunters operates as a single, unified service offering for the collection and destruction of old refrigerants across Canada. The core service encompasses three sequential phases: Hunt (purchasing eligible refrigerants from owners), Collect (transferring refrigerant into secure holding tanks), and Destroy (incinerating at certified facilities generating carbon offset credits). The company specializes in Class 1 CFC refrigerants (R-11, R-12, R-13, R-113, R-114, R-115, R-500) with R-12 being their primary focus. Secondary services cover reclaimed R-22, R-134a, and R-410a in bulk quantities. Services are delivered through in-person pickups in Southern Ontario and organized/paid shipping from elsewhere in Canada.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Refrigerant Collection and Destruction Service End-to-end refrigerant recovery and destruction service that purchases old refrigerants from individuals, businesses, and municipalities across Canada, safely collects them (in-person pickup in southern Ontario or prepaid shipping elsewhere), and incinerates them at approved destruction facilities to prevent greenhouse gas venting into the atmosphere.
• R-12 Collection Primary focus of early operations. R-12 (CFC-12, Dichlorodifluoromethane, UN 1082) is a highly potent CFC refrigerant being phased out globally. The company has collected over six tons of R-12 in two years.
• Class 1 CFC Refrigerant Collection Collection service for older Class 1 refrigerants including R-11 (CFC-11), R-12 (CFC-12), R-13 (CFC-13), R-113 (CFC-113), R-114 (CFC-114), R-115 (CFC-115), and R-500. The company accepts both virgin and reclaimed stock for these refrigerants.
• R-22, R-134a, R-410a Recovery Collection service for reclaimed or recovered R-22, R-134a, and R-410a refrigerants in larger volumes (100lbs+). The company does not purchase virgin stock for these refrigerant types.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 6 tons of R12 collected in 2 years
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Chemours: Major refrigerant manufacturer (including Opteon and Freon product lines) with established reclamation and end-of-life management programs. Comparable through deep involvement in the refrigerant value chain, though operating from the manufacturer side rather than as a pure collector.
• Clean Harbors: Largest North American provider of hazardous waste collection, treatment, and disposal services. Comparable as a broad environmental services incumbent that handles regulated chemicals (including refrigerants) under specialized licensing across multiple jurisdictions.
• South Pole Group: Major carbon credit project developer and retailer with deep involvement in the voluntary carbon market, including industrial gas destruction credits. Comparable as a player in the same carbon credit value chain that funds Refrigerant Hunters' destruction activities.
• Veolia Environmental Services: Global environmental services group with refrigerant recovery, reclamation, and destruction capabilities as part of a broader portfolio. Comparable as a large incumbent that handles regulated refrigerants at scale, though not focused exclusively on legacy CFC collection.
• Honeywell: Refrigerant manufacturer (HFC and low-GWP alternatives) with reclamation and stewardship initiatives. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the refrigerant industry with sustainability and end-of-life programs analogous to Refrigerant Hunters' destruction model.
• Stericycle: Specialized waste management company focused on regulated and hazardous waste streams, with collection infrastructure and licensing comparable to what an ODP-certified refrigerant collector requires. Operates as a broad incumbent rather than a CFC-destruction specialist.
• Heritage-Crystal Clean: Hazardous and industrial waste services provider with collection and handling capabilities relevant to refrigerant management. Comparable as a broad incumbent in regulated waste collection, though not specialized in CFC destruction.

Direct peers

• A-Gas: Specialty chemical company focused on refrigerant recovery, reclamation, and lifecycle management. Directly comparable business model around regulated refrigerants, with established reclamation infrastructure and licensing across multiple geographies.
• Tradewater: US-based direct competitor that collects and destroys legacy refrigerants and other ozone-depleting substances, generates carbon credits from the destruction, and serves as the model the founders cited as inspiration (via the Planet Money podcast). Operates the same Hunt-Collect-Destroy playbook in a parallel geography.

Emerging players

• CarbonClear: Carbon offset retailer and climate solutions provider focused on corporate customers purchasing high-quality offsets. Comparable as an emerging player in the voluntary carbon market where Refrigerant Hunters sells its destruction-generated credits.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Refrigerant Hunters Inc.