The Road Of Reincarnating A Vehicle

Did you know that anywhere between 12 and 15 million vehicles reach the end of their life expectancy every year in just the United States? How about the fact that 75 percent of the materials used to make a vehicle can be recycled? Automobile recycling is one of the top industries in the United States because it reduces waste and saves people money. The road to reincarnating a vehicle involves reducing, reusing, and recycling the vehicle.

Reducing

Automobile manufacturers are always looking for unique and interesting ways to reduce the amount of waste in the environment and increase the recycling opportunities a dead or destroyed vehicle offers. This is why vehicles are manufactured with as much recyclable materials as possible.

There was a time in history where automobile manufacturers made vehicles without much care for what materials and chemicals were used. This became an issue when compacting and recycling vehicles started because of concern for what was being released into the environment when the vehicle is smashed. Vehicles before 2003, for example, commonly contain auto switches made with mercury. The auto switches have to be removed from the vehicles before it is compacted and shredded to avoid releasing the mercury into the environment.

Reusing

Once a vehicle has reached its life expectancy or has been destroyed in an automobile accident, it will be dismantled. The purpose of dismantling the vehicle is to remove any parts that can be used on another vehicle. Some of these parts include:

• Engines
• Transmission
• Headlights
• Bumpers
• Doors

Dismantling and reusing a vehicle also involves removing parts that can be remanufactured for use again such as:

• Clutches
• Water Pumps
• Alternators

After the parts are removed, they are cleaned and fixed before being sold to a new owner.

Recycling

After a vehicle has been dismantled and all usable parts have been removed, the last step is compacting the vehicle and sending it through a shredder. After the vehicle goes through the shredder, the materials will be sorted into what is ferrous and what is not ferrous. Ferrous materials include steel and iron, and non-ferrous materials include copper, brass, zinc, and magnesium.

There are a number of fluids within a vehicle that can also be removed and recycled, such as coolant, refrigerant, gasoline, and engine oil. Tires, plastic, catalytic convertors, and batteries will also be removed and recycled.

The automobile recycling industry is extremely beneficial because it saves natural resources and energy. Statistics show that recycling metals utilizes between 70 and 75 percent less energy than making new metal does. For more information, contact Miamitown Auto Parts & Recycling or a similar company.

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