Mbabane – The Eswatini Environment Authority trained a group of data collectors on Tuesday as part of preparations to build a national inventory of ozone-depleting substances and hydrofluorocarbon banks across the country.
The workshop, held on 9 June 2026, was officially opened by Acting Executive Director Thabiso Nzuza and formed part of a broader project to identify, quantify and document stocks of used, unwanted and obsolete refrigerants, as well as refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment nationwide.
Over the next month, the trained data collectors will be deployed across Eswatini, visiting businesses, institutions, industries, workshops and facilities that own or manage refrigeration and air-conditioning systems. The data gathered will be used to develop a national management plan for the recovery, recycling and environmentally sound disposal of refrigerants regulated under the Montreal Protocol. 
Presentations delivered by the Authority’s technical team covered lifestyle refrigerant management, which focuses on preventing and reducing refrigerant leaks, promoting recovery and raising awareness. Participants were also briefed on the Montreal Protocol and the Kigali Amendment, trained on the use of the data collection tool and taken through a code of conduct for data collectors.
The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty designed to phase out the production and use of substances responsible for ozone layer depletion, while the Kigali Amendment, adopted in 2016, extended the treaty’s scope to include the phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons, which are potent greenhouse gases widely used in refrigeration and air-conditioning.
