Today, only 55% of aluminum cans in the United States are collected for recycling. Compare that to 95% of all cars scrapped, even though only around 75% of the material in a motor vehicle is recycled today. Auto recycling carries significant benefits both for the vehicle owner and for the environment. Here at Junk Car Cash Out, we want to inform our customers so they can make their own decisions with regards to auto recycling. Knowing what you can get out of your junk (or even new) car makes a difference!
Auto Recycling Facts & Figures
With regards to the real benefits of recycling, here are some quick numbers specific to auto recycling. The United States recycles approximately 10 million cars each year and for each car recycled, the Washington Department of Ecology reports a conservation of:
• 2,500 pounds of iron ore
• 1,000 pounds of coal
• 40 pounds of limestone
• 4.3 barrels of oil energy equivalent
These values represent the costs of mining, refining, and transportation. Steel creation is an extremely energy-intensive process, so reducing its economic and environmental impacts - especially through recycling - is important. Compared to creating steel from the start, recycling saves roughly 74% of the required energy and bypasses the side effects of associated mining operations.
Other car components such as batteries, catalytic converters, wheels, tires, glasses, and plastics can also reused or recycled. Some are melted down for reuse, while others require additional purification steps. However, raw material usage, water pollution, and air pollution all see reductions through the recycling process compared to turning old car parts into waste products.
Auto Recycling Process
So what does the auto recycling look like? Overall, it's not much different from recycling anything else, but involves additional aspects due to the complexity of automobiles.
First, someone takes the vehicle to the junk yard and takes inventory of potentially reusable or recyclable parts. After draining fluids such as refrigerants, oil, and gasoline, the relevant parts are pulled out. Additional hazardous materials such as air bag propellant are also removed. The remainder is then crushed or cubed for convenience in transportation to industrial hammer mills or shredder facilities. There, vehicles are further reduced to fist-sized lumps of metal for the purposes of recycling. What remains is mostly steel that gets sent to steel mills for conversion to other products. Any rubber, glass, or plastic left in the mix are extracted and sent to their respective recycling processes as well.
As professional vehicle recyclers, we deal with the troubles of vehicle disposal through proper waste management practices. In addition to enabling others in finding used parts, we reclaim hazardous fluids and oils that would otherwise be left behind. In essence, we manage all of the specifics so you don't have to.
Junk Car Cash Out
At Junk Car Cash Out, we pay cash for scrap metal, junk cars, new cars, and anything in between. For vehicles, all you need to provide is the make, model, and year, and our specialists will not only walk you through our process, but also let you know exactly how much money you're getting. You'll be paid cash immediately upon arrival of our professional, and complimentary towing service is available across the state.
