A growing concern for environmental awareness has affected many industries in recent decades. Some businesses have taken it upon themselves to be ahead of industry standards and to do their part in protecting the environment. Auto recyclers in Victoria, BC are a great example of how to successfully conduct business while also preventing damage to the environment.
Recycling an automobile can be a dirty job. The cost to the environment, if care is not taken, can be significant due to good parts being destroyed, recyclable components filling up landfills, and toxic chemicals leeching into water supplies. Thankfully, auto recyclers in Victoria, BC have taken note—they employ numerous strategies to ensure vehicle recycling doesn’t damage the environment. If you are curious, here are a few of those strategies:
When recycling a vehicle, there are multiple stages to it being taken apart. The first stage is profitable recycling; meaning parts of the automobile that are still in good condition can be removed and resold. Consider an automobile that is no longer usable because the rear end of the car has been destroyed due to a car accident. Skilled technicians will begin the recycling of this vehicle by removing everything of value in front of the collision area. This includes front body components, the engine, electrical systems, unbroken glass, headlights, and the list goes on. All of these parts can be resold since they are still in perfectly good condition. This reduces landfill waste, prevents new parts from needing to be manufactured, and drives revenue in the process.
Once a car has been stripped of everything of value, the next step is fluid elimination. It takes a lot of different types of fluid for a car to run correctly. Oil lubricates the engine’s internal mechanisms, special lubricants are used in the transmission and other gearboxes, brake fluid is used for hydraulic pressure, and coolants cool the motor down. Air condition fluid, which is particularly harmful to the environment, also is prevalent on many vehicles about to be recycled. Experts conduct full vehicle inspections to ensure all fluids are eliminated prior to recycling. If this is not done, then those fluids can eventually leak out of the vehicle, into the ground, and eventually into water supplies. After removal, the fluids are stored and disposed of using industry-accredited standards.
Two other components are also removed from vehicles, even if they are unable to be reused. These are tires and the battery. Both can be properly recycled by industries specializing in those parts, so often they are stripped off and sent elsewhere for proper recycling.
Finally, the vehicle that is actually recycled is often a complete shell of its former self. Auto recyclers in Victoria, BC then use environmentally friendly methods to compress the metal into stamped form, and then sell it for reuse. If done correctly, all parts of a car are either properly disposed of or reused in some form.
These are just a few of the strategies used to environmentally recycle a vehicle. Thanks to the stewardship of these companies, we can proudly say this industry is doing its part to preserve the environment for future generations.