We’ve all seen the odd house with a junk vehicle or two littering the driveway or front lawn. It is a messy sight. One can’t be blamed for wondering why they don’t find a way to dispose of the car. Because in this day and age, it is actually extremely easy to do this. There are a few different options for getting this done, but let’s us not fool ourselves. The best way to dispose of an old car will involve recycling of some sort. Why is this? Let us explore this.
When a vehicle is recycled, the parts and materials are salvaged from it for re-use later on in new vehicles. This means that any steel used to make these components will be used instead of newly mined steel. And as we all know, mining for the ore uses more energy resources than simply recycling old steel. Less mining means less carbon dioxide, which is the greenhouse gas driving climate change, getting released into the atmosphere. Mining also produces other waste, some of which pollutes water.
When old vehicles are recycled, the toxic and nasty chemicals that go into your average car will all either disposed of following strict environmental guidelines, or stored for future re-use. Materials that fall under this definition include brake fluid, battery acid, oil, coolant and some gases.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that car engine oil isn’t good for the environment. The worst final resting place for it is the local landfill. It will end up in the groundwater and waterways, killing plant life and wild-life. The fact of the matter is that oil can be cleaned and re-used. There is no excuse for the improper disposal of oil.
Car batteries house a lot of materials that are not friendly to the environment. These include such nasties as mercury, lead and sulphuric acid. Lead is especially nasty, and will cause all kinds of health issues for anyone who accidentally ingests it. This is why efforts have been made to make sure that car batteries are especially easy to recycle. That lead can go on to lead a new life in other products, instead of ruining people’s health.
It isn’t hard to recycle tyres either. The truth about tyres is that they eventually get old, and when this happens they require replacement. The worst thing you can do is dump the old ones in a landfill or rubbish dump. But people do this anyway. Some estimates put the number of tyres regularly dumped to be up to seventeen million. They are often burned, and if they aren’t burned but are instead stockpiled they become a genuine fire risk. They are easily recycled, and many products are made from recycled tyres, such as road surfacing, AstroTurf, shoes, and the list goes on.
If you want to do the environment a favour, make sure you have your old car recycled. Know more about our scrap car disposal and recycling services.
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