It’s natural to be curious about what exactly happens to a vehicle, after handing it over to a scrapping and recycling specialist.
Gone are the days when cars were simply crushed into cubes and left to deteriorate for eternity on scrapyards. Today, it’s all about ensuring as much of the vehicle as possible is put back into the system through responsible recycling.
Government policy now makes it a legal requirement for all vehicles to be scrapped and recycled at an Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF). Unless you dispose of your car via an ATF, you’re breaking the law – and could face a heavy penalty.
Far from a needless formality, the legal requirement to use an ATF ensures all vehicles are recycled as efficiently as possible.
As for what exactly happens to your car after you bid a final farewell, there are several steps involved in the recycling process.
Vehicle Depollution
The first of which is ensuring all potentially dangerous fluids and materials are removed from the vehicle and disposed of accordingly. This may include things like the vehicle’s battery, certain fluids and lubricants, engine oils and so on.
Not to mention, the explosive charges fitted to airbag release mechanisms.
Basically, anything that could pose a threat to the environment (or those working on the vehicle) is removed and disposed of in a safe way.
Dismantling and Crushing
The next step in the process is the dismantling of the vehicle, in order for its various components to be separated on the basis of material type.
Road vehicles are loaded with a long list of recyclable materials – each of which needs to be recycled in a different way. The materials must therefore be sorted, before moving on to the final stage in the process.
Recycling and Reuse
It is estimated that more than 85% of everything that goes into a vehicle can be recycled. The scrap metal value of a car (in terms of recycling potential) is therefore huge.
After being recycled, the new materials made from a scrap car can be put to almost any use imaginable. They can be used to make household appliances, they can be recycled into tin cans and they can even be used to make new cars.
In fact, research suggests that if all end-of-life vehicles in the UK were recycled efficiently, the country’s vehicle manufacturing industry could be self-sustaining. No new materials would ever need to be sourced, as they would already be in the system in the form of recycled materials.
Call Anytime for a Quote…
At Take My Scrap Car, we promise to pay the best possible price for every scrap vehicle we collect. Irrespective of make, model, age and condition, we’ll ensure you are provided with a fair quotation, based on scrap values on the day.
Whether you are ready to go ahead or simply curious how much your scrap car might be worth, we’re standing by to take your call. Contact TMSC anytime, or complete the online form on our website and we will get back to you.
