Refrigerant R22 was commonly used in air conditioning equipment throughout the 1990s. It is, however, a class of refrigerant known as HCFCs or hydrochlorofluorocarbons which are known to have serious ozone layer depleting properties and whose use in new equipment was banned a number of years ago.

The European Ozone Depleting Substances regulation of 2000 explains the restrictions on new equipment and states that "There will be a ban on the use of virgin HCFCs for service work from 1st January 2010 and a ban on the use of all HCFCs, including recycled materials, from 1 January 2015."