So What is Auto Recycling Anyway?

What is Auto Recycling?

Generally, vehicles are known to be useful when they are in good condition but did you know that they still have value in them even when they reach the end of their life? When vehicles are all worn out, they are usually left in the backyard or sometimes stored away in the garage. If your car is no longer operable, there’s always something that can be used for, which is basically what auto recycling is all about.

Auto recycling refers to the dismantling of vehicles for smelting and reuse of the metals in making other products. As you probably know, cars are made from regular materials, just like any other product in our world. When a car is old, worn-out and abandoned, its spare parts can be converted to good use via auto recycling.

Auto recycling in Canada

When you think of recycling in Canada the first thing that probably pops up in your mind is plastic water bottles. In all actuality, automobiles are one of the most recycled consumer products in Canada as about 95 percent of vehicles that reach the end of their useful lives (end of live vehicles) are collected for recycling.

Although the automotive recycling industry is just about 77 years old, it has grown to become a significant revenue-generating sector with approximately 1.6 million vehicles making their final exit from Canadian roads annually and receiving the proper sendoff they earned over the year.

If you have a car that’s no longer operable or if the repairs exceed its total value, you can take it directly to a scrap yard or trade them in at an automobile dealership. Either way, the car will eventually end up at an auto recycler and wreckers.

Experts say that at least 75 percent of the materials can be recycled, with the remaining percentage ending up in landfill.

Benefits of auto recycling

Reduced global warming
Auto recycling can help save our planet. Vehicle manufacturing processes lead to large emissions of greenhouse gases, which increase the number of toxic elements in our atmosphere. Recycling scrap metals help to reduce the release of such gases and thus reduce global warming.
Ensures optimal vehicle disposal
When cars are abandoned for long, the toxic fluids in them can leak and diffuse into the soil and may lead to environmental pollution. Auto recycling makes it possible to dispose of a vehicle safely and professionally.
Creates more jobs
Auto recycling is an effective way to decrease our unemployment since the processes require heavy equipment and skilled staff. Currently, the industry employs more than 3,000 people across the country and generates approximately $600 million.

One of the questions many car owners often ask is why they should have their junk cars scrapped and recycled rather than let it stand in their backyard. Here are the key advantages of auto recycling you should know:

When cars are abandoned for long, the toxic fluids in them can leak and diffuse into the soil and may lead to environmental pollution. Auto recycling makes it possible to dispose of a vehicle safely and professionally.

Auto recycling is a process that allows you to safely dispose of your old or wrecked cars. You get the opportunity to contribute to the improvement of the environment and get paid for your old cars.

How Are Cars Recycled?

Detailed inspection: A recycling facility inspects the car to see if it is more valuable to repair than to recycle. If the repairing looks unprofitable, the recycling facility proceeds with dismantling and recycling. Around 90% of the cars in a junkyard are dismantled and recycled rather than repaired.

Draining fluids and dismantling valuable parts: The recycling facility drains different fluids such as oil, gas, antifreeze, transmission, and brake lubricants and fluids. Operators segregate hazardous liquids and accumulate them for safe disposal. Liquids such as gas and oil are filtered and reused by refining companies, which collect the fluids from Scrap Yards.

Then the car engine and transmission are lifted from the car chassis and usable parts are removed and cleaned. Other components such as tires and batteries are also removed for resale or recycling.

Selling recovered auto parts: Some car parts are reusable as is, to repair other cars while other parts can be sold to auto-part re-manufacturers. The recycling facility may sell these parts through a dedicated used-parts sales component, or directly to local repair operations.

Crushing and shredding: Once all the recyclable car parts—except metals such as iron and steel—are sorted out and stored or sold, all that remains is the car body, which includes different metals and is crushed and shredded into a flat metal chunk. If the chunk were pressed into a cube, it would be roughly the size of a small microwave oven.

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