First it was paper, and then plastic, now you can recycle almost anything, including your car. Cars are made primarily of metal and plastic, making them a prime item for recycling, yet it was not until recently that it has became easier for the common person to recycle his or her car. Once a car comes to its end of life, many times it’s towed away to a junkyard or a landfill, compounded and left. The useful and easy-to-recycle metals go overlooked and unused. Very easy procedures now exist for everybody to recycle their old cars, no matter where you live.
In 1997, a directive was established by the European Union called the End of Life Vehicle Directive to ensure the most eco-friendly and sustainable ways to discard or recycle vehicles. Companies concerned with the environment and promoting recycling jumped on board with the E.U. initiative and abide by the same regulations. One of the nation’s largest alliances with the End of Life Vehicle Directive is
greenvehicledisposal.com.
Find a green disposal program
Various companies and programs have been established throughout the country that offer competitive compensation for your junked vehicle. These green disposal participants differ from the typical junkyard because they adhere to strict policies that ensure the safest and most earth-friendly ways to recycle the vehicle.
The process is simple. You contact a participant in the program and unregister your car, then they pick up your car for free and compensate you for it. From there, your car is taken to a facility where it undergoes a de-pollution procedure. This procedure safely removes and disposes of all liquids and potentially hazardous materials found in the car, including the battery. The vehicle is then set to be donated to a recycling facility where the plastic, glass and scrap metal are all remade into new products.
Donate the vehicle
If your car is not at the end of its life (meaning it still runs) you can donate your car to a local agency that will repair the vehicle and in turn donate it to a family in need. This solves two major issues: You can easily get rid of your car and a family that can’t afford a vehicle receives one free of charge. You can also claim the estimated worth of your donated car on your taxes.
Many donation services have implemented green practices to refurbish the vehicle and get it in its best shape. Green vehicle donation services also provide the recipient of the vehicle with a contact number in case the car does come to its end of life, in which case the donation service will pick up the vehicle free of charge and have it recycled.
Junkyard
Junkyards have gotten with the program. They no longer take end-of-life cars and let them sit and rot; they too have taken advantage of the ability to reuse and recycle every part of a car. Contact your local junkyard and speak to them about their policies and philosophy of recycling. You will discover that many modern junkyards will strip the car of all its useful parts and sell them to local auto shops. After the car is stripped, all remaining materials are made ready to be recycled. Many junkyards will also compensate you for your end-of-life vehicle and provide a free towing service. Choosing a junkyard is a viable choice; you’ll just have to do your homework and ask the right questions to ensure its practices are earth friendly.
Although your car won’t fit in your recycling bin at home, it can still be recycled and reused to promote a healthier earth. Recycling your car will prevent toxic chemicals from mixing and seeping into the earth’s soil and it will put your old junker to good use. Who knows, maybe one day your repurchase the scrap metal from your car in its reincarnated state as a coffeemaker!
