There are many people in this world that think that it is about time that businesses, and individuals, take a more “green” approach to conserving and reusing the resources that we already have. One of the most plentiful resource that is available are wrecked cars that are in salvage yards all over the world. There is a treasure of resources that can be recycled in order to reduce people’s carbon footprint and keep these materials out of landfills, and out of drinking water. Materials such as aluminum, platinum, copper, rubber, and motor oil are just some of the many resources that are sitting, untapped, in junkyards.
“Vehicles can be disassembled and these materials put to good use” , Michael, the head of automotive recycling states. Michael owns a small salvage yard that is specializing in the recycling of old and unwanted vehicles. The engines can either by resold in order to help keep other vehicles on the road, and out of the salvage yards, or they can be turned to scrap and recycled.
Catalytic converters house valuable platinum that can be recycled and put to a better use than to just sit in a salvage yard. Even the rubber tire, if in good shape, can be resold in order to keep them on the road. If the tires are no longer good they can be shredded and used as playground material to help and keep children from falling and hurting themselves. Not only this, but the motor oil can even be drained from the engines and recycled so that it is not leaching into aquifers and contaminating the drinking water.
The car has so many different parts that can be recycled or reused. For example, if a transmission is bad on a used car it can be used for transmission repair and such. Which can end up being extremely beneficial to the environment as a whole.
Auto glass can also be put to good use by filling orders placed by individuals that need them. If the window is not salvageable then it can be collected and recycled in bulk. There is virtually no end to the amount of recycling that can be done to a vehicle. Body panels, radiators, chassis, even the gas tank can all be harvested for the metals that they are made of. This can help to keep salvage yards cleaner, and can help to stop the amount of wasted metal that is rusting in the junkyard and get it where it belongs. Some salvage yards think that it is unwise to recycle vehicles because they are under the assumptions that eventually a person will inquire about a body panel, or some other car part that they can then make money off of. While this is a common misconception it is far more environmentally friendly to recycle a vehicle in a timely manner than to hold on to it.