Quick answer
Under Article 11(3) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573, the import, any subsequent supply or making available to other persons within the Union for payment or free of charge, use or export of non-refillable containers for fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I and Section 1 of Annex II is prohibited — whether they are empty, partially filled or fully filled.
Such containers may only be stored or transported for subsequent disposal. The one exception is containers for laboratory or analytical uses.
The placing on the market of these containers has been prohibited far longer: Annex IV, point 1 carries the date 4 July 2007, and it covers non-refillable containers used to service, maintain or fill refrigeration, air conditioning or heat pump equipment, fire protection systems or electrical switchgear, or for use as solvents.
Article 23(12) requires customs authorities to confiscate or seize prohibited non-refillable containers for disposal by destruction, or to inform the competent authorities so that it happens. Market surveillance authorities withdraw or recall them from the market.
The two definitions — and the one that catches people out
Article 11(3), second subparagraph, defines a non-refillable container in two ways. Both count.
| Definition | What it looks like in practice | |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Containers which cannot be refilled without being adapted for that purpose. | The classic disposable can: no valve for refilling, a single-use crimped fitting, a body not designed to be re-tested. |
| (b) | Containers which could be refilled but are imported or placed on the market without provision having been made for their return for refilling. | A perfectly ordinary steel cylinder, sold outright with no return route. |
Definition (b) is the one that surprises buyers. The physical cylinder can be sound, pressure-tested and re-fillable in every technical sense — and still be a non-refillable container in law, because nobody arranged for it to come back.
The test is whether a binding return arrangement exists. Without one, the goods are prohibited from import, supply, use and export.
What a legal cylinder is backed by
Article 11(4) puts the other half of the rule in place. An undertaking that places refillable containers for fluorinated greenhouse gases on the market has to produce a declaration of conformity including evidence confirming that binding arrangements are in place for the return of those containers for refilling.
The declaration has to identify:
- the relevant actors;
- their obligatory commitments; and
- the relevant logistical arrangements.
Those arrangements must be made binding on the distributors of the cylinders down to the end user. So the obligation does not stop at the first sale — it runs through the chain.
Retention. The undertaking that places the cylinders on the market keeps the declaration of conformity for at least 5 years from that moment. Suppliers of refillable containers to end users keep evidence of compliance with the binding arrangements for at least 5 years from supply. Both have to be produced on request to the competent authority or the Commission.
At the border. Article 23(6) requires importers of Annex I and Annex II Section 1 gases in refillable containers to make the declaration of conformity available to customs at the time the customs declaration for release for free circulation is submitted, including the evidence of the return arrangements.
What to check before you accept a delivery
Ask for the declaration of conformity
Article 11(4) requires the undertaking placing refillable containers on the market to have produced one. A supplier who cannot show it has a problem you do not want to inherit.
Look for the actual return route
Who takes the cylinder back, under what commitment, and with what logistics. A vague statement that cylinders “can be returned” is not a binding arrangement.
Check the label
Article 12(1)(g) requires all fluorinated greenhouse gas containers to be labelled. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2174 requires the text “contains fluorinated greenhouse gases”.
Check the gas quantity and CO2 equivalent
Article 12(3) requires the weight and the CO2 equivalent, and the GWP of the gases. 2024/2174 confirms the values come from the “GWP” column of the annexes.
Watch for reclaimed and recycled wording
“100 % Reclaimed” or “100 % Recycled” under 2024/2174, with the batch number and the reclamation facility's name and Union address for reclaimed gas.
Be suspicious of a price that does not include a cylinder relationship
If nothing in the deal explains what happens to the cylinder afterwards, definition (b) is in play.
Keep the paperwork five years
Both the declaration of conformity and the evidence of compliance with the return arrangements have five-year retention.
What actually happens to an illegal cylinder
The consequences are unusually concrete for an environmental rule.
Seizure and destruction. Article 23(12) is explicit: customs authorities shall confiscate or seize non-refillable containers referred to in Article 11(3), second subparagraph, point (a), that are prohibited by the regulation, for disposal by destruction in accordance with Articles 197 and 198 of the Union Customs Code — or shall inform the competent authorities so that confiscation and seizure for destruction happen. Market surveillance authorities also withdraw or recall such containers from the market under Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020.
No second life. Article 11(1), third subparagraph, is the general rule for goods unlawfully placed on the market: they may not subsequently be used, supplied or made available to anyone in the Union, for payment or free of charge, and may not be exported. They may only be stored or transported for disposal and for recovery of the gas before disposal.
Penalties. Article 31 requires Member States to lay down effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for infringements and to take all measures necessary to ensure they are implemented.
Article 11(3) prohibits use as well as import and supply. A technician charging a system from a disposable cylinder is not a bystander to someone else's import offence.
Disposing of cylinders you already have
If a non-refillable container is already on your shelf, the regulation gives it exactly one lawful destination: storage or transport for subsequent disposal. It may not be used, sold, given away or exported.
Before it goes, Article 8(7) applies: an undertaking that uses a container with gases listed in Annex I and Section 1 of Annex II must, immediately prior to its disposal, arrange for the recovery of any residual gases so that they are recycled, reclaimed or destroyed. A cylinder that still holds a heel is not scrap metal.
Practically that means: recover the remaining gas with the right equipment and qualification, record the recovered quantity, and route the empty container into the disposal channel — not into the yard, not into a skip, and not back to a customer.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the ban is new. Placing them on the market has been prohibited since 4 July 2007 under Annex IV, point 1.
- Thinking an empty one is fine. Article 11(3) covers empty, partially filled and fully filled containers alike.
- Judging by the cylinder, not the arrangement. A refillable cylinder sold with no return provision is non-refillable in law.
- Accepting delivery without the declaration of conformity. Article 11(4) requires it, and Article 23(6) requires importers to show it to customs.
- Assuming only the importer is at risk. Import, supply, making available, use and export are all prohibited.
- Exporting the problem. Export of non-refillable containers is prohibited, and unlawfully placed goods may not be exported either.
- Scrapping with gas still inside. Article 8(7) requires recovery of residual gases immediately before disposal.
- Keeping no evidence. Five years for the declaration of conformity and for the evidence of compliance with the return arrangements.
Checklist
- Every cylinder in stock is refillable with a return routeNot merely refillable in principle.
- Declaration of conformity on fileFrom the undertaking that placed the containers on the market, kept five years.
- Evidence of the binding arrangements keptFive years from supply to the end user.
- Label present and complete“contains fluorinated greenhouse gases”, designation, weight and CO2 equivalent, GWP.
- Reclaimed or recycled wording checked“100 % Reclaimed” with batch number and facility, or “100 % Recycled”.
- Import paperwork ready for customsDeclaration of conformity available when the customs declaration is submitted.
- Any legacy disposables isolatedStored or transported only for disposal, never used or passed on.
- Residual gas recovered before disposalArticle 8(7), with the quantity recorded.
Frequently asked questions
Are disposable refrigerant cylinders illegal in the EU?
Yes. Article 11(3) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 prohibits the import, any subsequent supply or making available to others in the Union, use and export of non-refillable containers for gases listed in Annex I and Section 1 of Annex II, whether empty, partially filled or fully filled. Annex IV, point 1, has prohibited placing them on the market since 4 July 2007.
Is an empty disposable cylinder allowed?
No. The prohibition applies to empty containers as well. They may only be stored or transported for subsequent disposal.
My cylinder is refillable. Is that enough?
Not on its own. A container that could be refilled but is imported or placed on the market without provision having been made for its return for refilling counts as non-refillable under Article 11(3), second subparagraph, point (b).
What is the declaration of conformity?
Under Article 11(4), the undertaking placing refillable containers on the market produces a declaration including evidence of binding arrangements for their return for refilling — identifying the actors, their obligatory commitments and the logistics. It is kept for at least five years and produced on request.
What happens at customs?
Article 23(12) requires customs authorities to confiscate or seize prohibited non-refillable containers for disposal by destruction under Articles 197 and 198 of the Union Customs Code, or to inform the competent authorities so that this happens.
Can I use up the disposables I already bought?
No. Use is one of the prohibited acts in Article 11(3). Such containers may only be stored or transported for subsequent disposal.
Does the ban apply to laboratory gases?
Article 11(3) states that the paragraph does not apply to containers for laboratory or analytical uses of fluorinated greenhouse gases.
What do I do with a disposable cylinder that still has gas in it?
Article 8(7) requires the undertaking using the container to arrange for the recovery of any residual gases immediately before disposal, so that they are recycled, reclaimed or destroyed. Record the recovered quantity, then send the empty container for disposal.
Official sources
Articles 8, 11, 12 and 23 and Annex IV were read directly in the Official Journal text through the EU Publications Office.
Currency of this guide and limits of responsibility
Enforcement is carried out nationally by customs and market surveillance authorities, and practice differs between Member States. The article references here were checked on the verification date shown at the top of the page.
This is general information prepared by EgoLog from the regulation and official Commission material. It is not legal advice.
If you are unsure whether a specific container is lawful, ask the supplier for the declaration of conformity and, if that does not settle it, your national competent authority — before the cylinder is used.