Many of us love our car. Sometimes we love it to death, literally. Maybe it was our first car and so we drove it until it wouldn’t drive anymore, or maybe it was your teens older car, and it just can’t be fixed in an affordable way. Maybe, you just want an upgrade since your old jalopy is falling apart. So when your car is ready to “die,” what happens when it goes off to the car graveyard?
Car dealerships will most likely take your vehicle in on trade when you are ready for it to go. When they take an older vehicle, many times, it will be sent off to auction, and even if it isn’t going to be resold, they will be purchased for parts. Other scrappers will sell vehicles to salvage yards to earn a quick buck, but what happens when your loved one arrives at its final destination?
When a vehicle enters the salvage yard, it goes through a rigorous process. First, the vehicle is inventoried for parts. The engine is started so they can inspect it for leaks. They then drain all of the hazardous fluids out of the vehicle so that they will not seep into the ground. Next all hazardous materials such as the battery, mercury, and the propellent used in the airbags are removed.
After all of the reusable parts and hazardous materials are removed from the vehicle, the vehicle is sent to to the crusher. Once the vehicle is crushed, the remaining metal is recycled into new goods. Recycling this steel saves the US energy and resources. Dismantled parts are then sold to used parts suppliers to be reused by older model vehicles. 75% of the vehicle is recycled by dismantlers, while the remaining most likely will end up in the landfill.
So next time you are driving that new shiny car, truck, or SUV down the road, remember, your old car may have given birth to the new one in the form of recycled steel. No longer will your old car sit in the wrecking yard or junk yard creating an unsightly seen for passersby. Recycling your vehicle gives it eternal life in the form of a new product, maybe even your car.
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