What happens to your old car
If your car has reached the end of the road you’re in the right place. We’ll tell you about the recycling process, show you how to search for your nearest approved sites and let you know how new environmental rules will affect you.
Just The Facts:
• Each year in North America, close to 12 million vehicles reach the end of their useful lives and are taken out of service.
• Fact: 75% of your old car can be recycled
• Fact: 42% of all new steel in this country comes from recycled metal
• Fact: Using recycled metal saves up to 74% energy and 40% water consumption. It also reduces air pollution by about 86% and water pollution by 76%
What happens to my old car?
Your old car that is picked up, as per your request and taken to an Authorized Treatment Facilities (ATF’s) where the de-pollution takes place before dismantling or recycling occurs.
Vehicles are made up of:
• Ferrous metals: sheet steel, steel, cast iron: 70%
• Non-Ferrous Metals: aluminum, copper and zinc: 6%
• Automotive Shredder Residue (ASR): 24%
• Therefore, 76% of the average vehicle may be recycled which leaves 24% that remains as Automotive Shredder Residue (ASR).
Typically, composition of Automotive Shredder Residue (ASR) is as follows:
Material Percentage
Plastics polyurethane foam, polyester,
polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride,
styrene, polyethylene, acrylic 15-25%
Inert Material gravel, sand, dirt, etc. 15-25%
Paper/wood 15-25%
Glass 10-15%
Rubber 10-15%
Moisture 10-15%
Material Handling Procedure Oils and Greases
(engine oil, transmission, brake, steering fluid) Reused by auto recycler or removed to a licensed facility. Coolant, Fuel, Windshield Fluid Reused by auto recycler or sold/given to customers. Lead Acid Batteries Either re-sold or removed from premise by a Authorized recycling facility. Tires Good quality tires resold domestically or exported.
Scrap tires removed from facility by a service company are taken to a tire facility. CFCs, HCFCs All air-conditioning systems are evacuated by a trained technician. Used refrigerant is sold to a licensed buyer for reuse.
Just how big of a global problem is my old car?
• In the United States 10-11 Million vehicles reach the end of their lives and are taken off the road every year.
• In Canada, 5 or 6 % of the entire automotive fleet is taken off the road every year, this works out roughly to between 400,000 and 500,000 vehicles yearly in Ontario alone.
• Just over two million vehicles every year, reach the end of their useful lives in the United Kingdom.