Howard's Car Sales Blog

Have you ever wondered what happens to your car once it finally reaches the end of its life? If you have a vehicle that is somewhat long in the tooth, then you'll want to ensure that you recycle as much as possible, and you'd be surprised just how established an industry this is today. What is involved in this process?

First Things First

When you take your vehicle in to get everything under way, some items are at the top of the list. For example, tyres, batteries, excess fuel and other specialised components like the catalytic converter are first to be removed. Some items (like an airbag) may appear to be valuable as they are essentially unused, but for safety reasons, they will simply be deactivated and removed instead.

Reused

Next, the auto parts recycler will look for parts that can be reused "as is," either as spares or as a replacement. These will need to be in good working condition, although some components can be re-manufactured, and this may include the car's engine.

Shredding Output

If your vehicle has done a lot of mileage and is rather tired, then the engine, together with gearbox, transmission and other steel parts, may be earmarked for shredding. This will create a certain amount of ferrous metal material that can be used as scrap input in steel mills. Therefore, parts of your car may end up as part of a new bicycle or a soft drink can.

Compacted Material

Many parts of your car may be worth very little and may be compacted once other elements have been removed. They'll be sent into a shredding and crushing machine, and once this process is complete, large magnets are used to pull out the steel, iron or other ferrous metals from the material.

Latest Solutions

The latest recycling technology can also help to remove other types of material, including plastics, textiles and fibres that may otherwise have ended up in a landfill. These machines are able to separate materials and divert them along a different path. Some of these plastics may end up as special reducing agents in a manufacturing process, while fibres may end up in a sewage treatment plant to help solidify sludge.

High-Efficiency

In short, you could find remnants of your car in a wide variety of applications and very little, if any, will find its way into the traditional landfill. This should be enough to motivate you to recycle when your car finally bites the dust.