It’s always nice to hear of manufacturers, entrepreneurs and forward-thinking innovators in general finding new and exciting uses for scrap metal. However, it’s even nicer to hear of the world’s biggest and most influential brands actively seeking ways and means by which to make the best possible use of scrap metal and recycled materials.
All over the world, car makers are finding themselves under enormous pressure to both produce vehicles that are more environmentally friendly and at the same time reduce the carbon footprint of their business in general. It’s no secret that producing vehicles means utilising a serious amount of energy, not to mention the materials and other resources needed for the manufacturing process. Nevertheless, growing pressure to clean things up as much as possible is prompting manufacturers at all levels to get creative and thoughtful, with respect to the future of their businesses.
Unsurprisingly, one of the most effective ways of reducing vehicle emissions significantly and permanently is to make cars lighter. The lighter a vehicle is, the less fuel it needs to propel it along and thus the less pollution it generates. One extremely effective way of reducing vehicle weight is to introduce as much aluminium as possible into the body of the car, replacing heavier steel when and where possible. The only problem being that aluminium tends to be massively more expensive than steel, which for obvious reasons can be problematic.
And that’s exactly why the folks over at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) have turned their attention to scrap metal. In the simplest possible terms, it takes in the region of 95% less energy to produce recycled aluminium than it does to produce brand-new aluminium from scratch. Which in turn means that not only is recycled aluminium spectacularly less expensive, but it is also exponentially more environmentally friendly in its own right. 
From a car manufacturer’s perspective, this represents the win-win situation.
The company has announced a new project called REALCAR, which over the course of 8 years will see significant advancement, development and investment in the use of recycled aluminium alloy in future JLR vehicles. According to a recent company statement, the project has so far seen 50,000 tons of scrap aluminium being reclaimed and put back into the production line – enough to create the body shells of 200,000 new vehicles, while at the same time reducing CO2 emissions by 500,000 tonnes.
So once again, we have a high profile example of just how much incredible potential and value there is in every shred of scrap metal the United Kingdom produces. Given the fact that we take tens of thousands of cars off the roads each and every month, this amounts to a quite spectacular stockpile of valuable materials that could and should be put back into use.
For more information on responsible car recycling or to arrange a collection, get in touch with the Take My Scrap Car team today.
