When you think of green energy and preserving our planet for future generations, you probably think of hot new energy technology, eco-friendly straws, and things that would have been considered sci-fi movie material twenty years ago. However, we bet you don’t think about a dirty old junkyard.
That’s a shame because the auto-wrecking business is one of the “greenest” industries on the planet.
Don’t take our word for it, though. Here are just a few ways the auto-wrecking industry helps save the planet.
Removal of Toxic Chemicals
Your vehicle is full of chemicals that destroy the environment, pose a health risk to humans and animals when they work their way into the ecosystem, and generally cause a lot of unpleasant things to happen.
When a vehicle is improperly disposed of or just left in a backyard somewhere, those chemicals begin to leech into the environment.
Auto wreckers stop this from happening by not only taking the junk vehicle but also removing all toxic chemicals and ensuring that they are properly disposed of. This prevents them from getting into the environment and causing all of those issues before it’s ever a problem.
Polymer Recycling
Cars are often jokingly called buckets of bolts, but in reality, a huge portion of every car is made of plastic. Like other common forms of plastic, those parts are not biodegradable and they harm the environment in various ways.
Namely, they cause harm to wildlife and flora either by leeching chemicals into the environment or trapping small animals that don’t know to stay away from them. To make it worse, those parts are usually 100% recyclable.
Auto wreckers salvage these parts and keep them out of the environment. If something like a bumper is in good shape, they’ll clean it up and sell it to another car owner. If it’s not, they’ll transport it to a recycling company that can turn it into something new.
Tires are also included in this. They’re made of rubber. If a car gets totalled, but the tires are still good, those tires can be resold. If they’re not, they can be melted down and reused.
Regardless of what is done to individual parts, auto wreckers ensure that they’re not harming the world.
Steel Recycling
Letting steel rust away on a remote property somewhere or in a landfill isn’t exactly good for the environment. However, simply removing the steel from places it shouldn’t be isn’t the only ecologically-friendly thing auto wreckers do with steel.
The steel industry is one of those industries that release tons of pollution into the air every year, and a lot of that pollution is easily avoidable; all we have to do is reduce the steel demand.
Unfortunately, the more steel that we have to produce from scratch to meet the valid demands of society, the more pollution that is produced along with it.
Auto wreckers salvage tons of steel that are easily re-used with minimal need for processing, and that helps to supplement the steel industry; offsetting the amount of steel it has to produce from scratch.
This lowers the amount of air pollution, removes rusting steel from the environment, and supports local steel industries and economies.
Auto Part Re-Use
When a car breaks down, it may be unusable, but that doesn’t mean that all of its parts are useless. Many of those parts have plenty of miles left on them, and they can be used to replace broken parts on other vehicles. Unfortunately, unless an auto wrecker salvages these parts, they’re often tossed in a landfill.
By salvaging the useful parts from totaled vehicles, an auto wrecker does several things:
- Reduces demand for more manufacturing
- Prevents parts from polluting the environment
- Removes the need to recycle a part’s raw materials.
On top of that, these salvaged parts are a lot cheaper than brand new ones; allowing you to purchase them and repair your vehicle for less.
Reduces Temptation to Pollute the Environment
Auto wreckers promote the recycling of damaged vehicles. They pay vehicle owners for their junk cars and usually offer free pick-up services. This allows vehicle owners to get a little cashback for their cars, and they don’t have to worry about towing them.
If this service wasn’t offered, it would be a lot more tempting for vehicle owners to simply ditch their car somewhere out of sight rather than paying for it to be removed; leading to all the problems we’ve discussed so far.
Support Local Auto Wreckers
Your local auto wrecker may look like a dirty junkyard full of trash, but it’s a planet-saving business that needs local support.
Next time you’re looking to get rid of a junk vehicle, don’t ditch it. Instead, call an auto wrecker to help the environment and return a bit of cash to your pocket.
