The Business (and Social Good) of Destroying Old Air Conditioners

🌈 Abstract

The article tells the story of Louis Potok, a data scientist who decided to tackle the global refrigerant crisis by starting a company called Recoolit to properly dispose of air conditioner fluid and prevent greenhouse gas emissions. It covers Potok's journey from discovering the problem in a book to building a business in Indonesia to address it.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Louis Potok's Background

1. What was Louis Potok's background before starting Recoolit?

• Potok was born in Manhattan and spent more time with books and computers than nature as a child
• He studied economics at the University of Chicago and then joined a nonprofit called ideas42, where he applied behavioral economics to international development problems
• He later worked at fintech and healthcare startups, tackling "unsexy problems"

2. How did Potok become interested in effective altruism and climate change solutions?

• Through his work at ideas42, Potok discovered the charity evaluator GiveWell and the effective altruism movement, which appealed to his inner data scientist and economist
• He started browsing online rationalist forums like LessWrong and the 80,000 Hours website for career advice

[02] Discovering the Refrigerant Problem

1. What problem did Potok discover in the book Drawdown?

• Potok found that the disposal of refrigerants, which are potent greenhouse gases, was the #1 ranked climate solution in the book
• Refrigerants contribute nearly 6% of all greenhouse gas emissions, three times more than aviation

2. What made the refrigerant disposal problem appealing to Potok?

• It didn't require any groundbreaking technology, as the disposal method of thermal destruction was already established
• It didn't require changing consumer behavior, as people simply don't know or care what happens to their refrigerant
• However, the challenge was that there was no inherent financial incentive to properly dispose of refrigerants

[03] Building Recoolit in Indonesia

1. Why did Potok choose to start Recoolit in Indonesia?

• Investors and advisors encouraged him to choose a large enough market, and Indonesia with its 270 million people and 2 million AC units sold per year fit the bill
• Indonesia's refrigerant emissions account for about 30 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year, providing a significant opportunity

2. What were the key steps Potok took to get Recoolit off the ground in Indonesia?

• He raised $200,000 from angel investors like Peter Reinhardt, who saw the potential to prevent massive emissions
• He hired local Indonesian employees and set up an office in Jakarta
• He built relationships with AC technicians to collect used refrigerant, found a cement kiln to destroy it, and developed software to track the process

3. What early milestones has Recoolit achieved so far?

• In two years, Recoolit has destroyed enough refrigerant to match the emissions of 1,100 tons of CO2, the equivalent of taking 2,600 cars off the road for a year
• They have collected nearly 10 times that amount, ready for destruction
• They have partnered with a local AC technician association to set up equipment depots and train technicians on their refrigerant recovery process