Millions of cars and other vehicles are recycled every year, allowing scrap yards to reclaim some of the valuable materials used in automobile manufacturing. Many people imagine auto recyclers as being nothing more than car junkyards filled with junk and piles of rusted, compressed vehicles.
Scrap vehicles aren’t simply destined to rot. Today’s auto recycling industry is among the top 20 largest industries in the United States.
Even more importantly, selling a junk car leaves you with cash in your pocket. But what really happens when you junk a car?
Selling a vehicle is easy. What happens to scrap cars after they are sold may seem like a mystery, but the answer is quite simple. Expert technicians go over every vehicle and reuse, recycle, or repurpose parts and salvage scrap metal.
- Reuse and Repurpose: Some of the materials are resold as used parts. The used car part market is growing exponentially, with a value of $6.5 billion in 2022, and demand is expected to continue increasing. Engines, transmissions, catalytic converters, and other parts may be resold, depending on their condition.
- Recycle: Components that can’t be rebuilt or repurposed can be recycled. Tires, windshields, and motor oil can all be recycled. Recycling materials from junk vehicles also benefits the environment, potentially saving significant amounts of energy and fossil fuels.
- Scrap: Metal is the main component in vehicles, which contains various metals such as steel, aluminum, and copper. Scrap prices fluctuate with market conditions and play a significant role in determining the worth of a scrap vehicle.
Common Recyclable Parts
Scrapyards and auto recyclers remove the vehicle’s vehicle identification number (VIN) from the Department of Motor Vehicles’ system. Useful parts are removed, with scrap metal eventually processed or recycled. Some of the most common parts that are reused or recycled include:
Catalytic Converters
This component of the exhaust system contains precious metals like platinum, which are valuable. The metals recovered from these parts can be recycled to make electronics, jewelry, and other items.
Batteries
Disposing of automobile batteries requires careful handling. With auto recycling, this process is automatic. Batteries are actually among the most common goods recycled in America, with approximately 99% safely and responsibly recycled.
Tires
The recycling industry handles about 80% of the tires that are no longer useful. This helps eliminate harmful waste from the environment, allowing them to be repurposed in numerous ways, including as turf and sports tracks.
Oil Filters and Motor Oil
The oil from just one oil change could potentially contaminate a large volume of fresh water, creating toxic conditions that can harm plants and animals due to improper disposal. Recycling allows old oil to be used again.
Glass
Glass can take up to a million years to decompose. If the windshield is intact, it can be reused for other vehicles. Otherwise, recycling it can be beneficial for the environment.
Alternators and Starters
These parts contain steel and copper, two metals that can be repurposed or recycled for use in other vehicles or other applications. If the parts can be refurbished, they can be a valuable addition to the used car part market.
