Did you know that more than 12 million cars are recycled in the United States every year? If you are debating whether to recycle your car or not, we are here to explain the ins and outs of car recycling and how exactly junk cars are recycled.
Keep reading to learn everything there is to know about recycling automobiles.
What Parts Get Used?
Most parts from a car can be recovered but the parts that are the most recycled include the batteries, tires, windshield glass, wheels, radiators, rubber hoses, carpets, car seats, belts, steel, iron, oil filters, and mats. The recycled glass is usually used to create other things such as jewelry, porcelain, glass beads, and countertops.
The batteries are used to make new batteries, and the tires are normally used to make new roadways because they are used in pavement bases.
Another part that is removed to recycle the metals inside of it is the catalytic converter. Some of the metals found in this car part are of high interest because of their rarity, these include platinum and palladium.
How Is the Vehicle Recycled?
First, a recycling facility will inspect the car to make sure that it is more valuable to recycle it than repair it. Once they determine that repairing the vehicle will be unprofitable then they begin dismantling the automobile.
All of the fluids like the antifreeze, gas, oil, and transmission fluid are drained out and disposed of safely. The gas and oil are usually filtered and used again.
Next, the transmission and car engine are lifted out of the chassis along with any other usable parts. All of the parts removed are cleaned up and sold or repaired as needed.
Once all of the parts that can be recycled are removed and the only thing remaining is the body of the car, it is crushed and shredded into a flat metal chunk. Some facilities will then break down the crushed car by shredding it into hand-sized pieces that are easier to handle.
The shredding machine will break the car into scrap aluminum and scrap steel which can then be sold and reused for something else. Most vehicle shredding machines work with magnets that automatically separate the non-ferrous and ferrous metals.
Mixing Metals
Some recycling centers will forward the scrap metal to automobile manufacturers but first, they will combine the scrap metal with other metal to help strengthen it. They also prepare it and get the metal ready to mold it into a new auto frame.
Feeling Like a Car Recycling Pro?
We hope that now that you know the ins and outs of car recycling you can make an informed decision on what you want to do with your older vehicle.
Did our blog post help you out? Feel free to browse our auto section for more tips.