Process of Car Recycling: A Basic Guide

• A1 Express
• Jun 25, 2022

Ever wondered what happens to the old and totally worthless vehicles that you give away? Some of them are repaired and made roadworthy again.

However, the most common way in which an unroadworthy car is treated is probably recycling. The process of Car recycling is worth more than dumping it in a junkyard.

Car recycling is a billion-dollar industry and vehicles are certainly the most recycled products in the world. With natural resources continuously being exploited for manufacturing, recycling is the only way to extend the timeline for when finite sources of raw materials will run out.

As people all over the world are being more considerate than ever regarding global warming, recycling has been adopted by many countries as a must-follow policy. But what is car recycling and how can the process of car recycling actually save the world?

If you are even a bit curious regarding the process of car recycling then be sure to make it till the end of the section. It will certainly be fruitful.

What is car recycling?

Car recycling is the process of dismantling vehicles for spare parts at the end of their useful life. All the individual parts obtained after the dismantlement of the vehicle are processed to form or construct another useful product in the process of Car Recycling.

Vehicles are often dumped in landfills after the end of their useful life. In the landfills, vehicles start to collect rust and dust, which further aggravates things. They also take up a lot of space that could have been useful for other stuff.

Moreover, rusting cars introduce blight in plants, which adversely affects the environment and the ecosystem.

Before we dive into the process of car recycling, let’s discuss the benefits of car recycling.

What are the benefits of car recycling – Process of Car Recycling

• Car recycling helps in the conservation of natural resources and energy. Recycling ensures that old metal parts are reused and the manufacturing process is reduced, which directly helps to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases into the environment. Materials that are used to manufacture vehicles, such as plastic, can be very toxic to the planet as they take forever to decay and also need energy for production. By recycling them we make sure that there is no undegradable material in landfills and energy is saved in manufacturing.
• Clearing out your scrap car for recycling can help you make space in your garage, driveway, or parking spot. You don’t want your end-of-life vehicle taking up space for your new car or other important things.
• Vehicle recycling promotes the reuse of vehicle parts. Since some parts inside of a scrap car can still be functional, reusing it can help reduce the manufacturing process. Parts like car batteries, glass parts, radiators, etc can be made as good as new after some small touch-ups.
• During recycling, all of the fluids from the junked vehicles are properly disposed of instead of oozing into the ground and ultimately affecting groundwater and the surrounding population. These fluids include oil, gasoline, anti-freeze, and even mercury. Car recycling ensures that these fluids are properly removed, stored and treated in order to eliminate the chance of environmental contamination.

What parts of a vehicle can be recycled?

Oil Filters:

Oil filters can be recycled as soon as the oil found in the reservoir is completely drained. Most used oil filters still contain a significant amount of oil, which means that they’re hazardous waste that needs to be recycled.

People who throw these parts in the trash should become aware of the fact that both steel and oil are non-renewable resources.

Batteries:

Vehicle batteries are made of lead, which is an extremely toxic material. First, the lead is separated from the plastic case and fed into a furnace to be melted down. Then the lead is reused for the manufacturing of brand-new batteries.

The plastic casing is also cleaned out. Finally, the acid is treated and neutralized.

Tires And Wheels:

The traditional method of burning the tire is toxic to the environment and most of the modern car recycling centers do not follow this traditional method.

A smart way to deal with old tires is to reuse them in swings, targets, art, or even planters. Vehicle tires comprise rubber fiber and metal. Once an old tire reaches a recycling facility, it is shredded or turned into Tyre Derived Fuel.

Scrap Metal:

Around 80% of the total mass of your vehicle is metal. The metal on an end-of-life vehicle is just as important as any other piece of metal.

Metal from wheels, axles, engines, handles, hoods, etc can be sold to scrap metal companies, who will melt it down so it can be reused.

Scrapyards make sure that every rusted metal piece on your vehicle is recycled so that it doesn’t get to a landfill.

Auto Glass:

Glass from windscreens and windows can be recovered and recycled to produce glass bottles, fiberglass insulation, and other important everyday products.

Auto recyclers can even reuse these items in another vehicle. After the glass is recovered from an old vehicle, it is crushed in grinders and then processed to obtain a glass cullet that can be used in concrete, fiberglass insulation, asphalt, etc.

Car radiators:

Traditionally car radiators were mostly comprised of copper or brass but modern radiators consist of 56% – 44% of aluminium. Copper or brass, aluminum, and plastic are what makeup today’s radiators.

Like any other metal from the car, radiator metal can be scrapped, melted down, and reformed to new shapes.

Car Fluids:

Gasoline, engine oil, brake fluid, power steering fluid, transmission fluid, and coolant are the major fluids present in your car. These fluids are hazardous to the environment and flammable as well.

So they have to be removed before dismantling the vehicle. Car parts stores, dealerships and chemical companies, or hazardous waste facilities will accept these fluids and process them for reusability.

Now, let’s dive into our main concern: the process of car recycling.

The General Process Of Car Recycling

Detailed Inspection

After your car reaches the process of car recycling facility, it undergoes a detailed inspection. Recyclers ascertain the condition of each component.

All the working and non-working parts are duly noted with their respective names and condition.

Draining Fluids and Dismantling Valuable Parts

After performing a rigorous inspection of the vehicle, all sorts of fluid inside the vehicle are drained. It includes petrol, oil, lubricants, antifreeze, brake and transmission fluids, and all sorts of other fuels that are in it.

All of these liquids are safely stored and the hazardous ones are disposed of safely before taking the vehicle for dismantling.

Selling Recovered Auto Parts

Not all auto parts are completely worn out or useless. Some of them can be in good condition and can still be functional. Such parts are cleaned and lubricated and sold at a price that doesn’t break the bank.

Some of the parts that had suffered minor damages are repaired and sold as well. Sometimes, these parts are taken to auto parts remanufacturers so as to reduce the manufacturing process.

The remaining parts, which are no longer usable, are taken for shredding. This is the most important process of car recycling.

Crushing and Shredding

After that, the non-usable parts are segregated based on their types. Non-metal parts are sorted out and stored or sold. On the other hand, metal parts are taken for crushing and shredding. Food this, huge shredding machines are used.

The main goal here is to reduce the size of metal so that melting becomes easier. Some modern crushers are so powerful that they can reduce the size of a car into a cube, which could be roughly the size of a small microwave oven.

Amazing, isn’t it?

Scrap Metal Melting and Recycling

The primary purpose of car recycling metals is to reduce the amount of energy required to melt them. Once the metallic parts are crushed and shredded, they are taken for the process of recycling and melting.

After melting, auto recyclers can give any shape to them based on their needs. This is all about the process of car recycling. If you have any confusion about the process of car recycling, then please let me know.