Car part recycling is now systematically performed in most countries. You can participate in a car recycle program if you have a vehicle declared as a total loss after an accident, or you have a car that is no longer roadworthy.
The criteria for determining end-of-life vehicles may vary between states and territories, so make sure you’re familiar with the motoring rules and laws in your city or state.
The important thing is that you understand that the system of car part recycling is in place in Australia, and there are many ways you can take part.
First, let’s talk about car part recycling in general, which parts of your car can be recycled, how to dispose of an old car responsibly, and more. Keep reading our article and stay on top of things.
Which Car Parts Can Be Recycled?
Batteries
Car batteries contain high amounts of heavy metals, including lead, which can be toxic and cause neurological problems. That doesn’t mean that they old batteries cannot be recycled anymore – they can, but they must be recycled by the right people.
So, when you’re discarding an old battery, don’t let it rot under the rain or throw it in the bin; turn it over to a recycling station, instead. Most shops selling new batteries also accept old batteries and pay you pocket change for your trouble.
Windshield and Windows
The glass on car windows and windscreens can be reused in producing a variety of items, like drinking glasses, kitchen implements, and even some type of jewellery. If we don’t recycle glass, it can contaminate the soil because it takes a long time to totally decompose.
Tyres
Old car tyres can create considerable environmental damage since they are generally not biodegradable, and they take a lot of space on the ground. A recycling centre can reuse rubber and plastic materials and convert them into toys and other useful products.
Padding and Fabric
A car contains seats and mats, elements that are mostly made of elastomers, resins, or cellulosic materials. There are many ways you can reuse them.
Light Bulbs
Car light bulbs contains glass that recycling facilities wash, shred, and use as a component in manufacturing various products, such as glass wool, insulation, and vitrified tiles.
Plastics
Plastic car components can be found in the dashboard, door trims, bumpers, windshield wipers, interior surfaces, and the trunk. In short, at a vehicle’s end of life, aside from the metal mass that it is, you’ll also find a heap of plastics to dispose of. Wreckers don’t throw this to the landfill because many of these parts can still be recycled.
Metals
Talking about metal, it can have a second or third or fourth life because steel and aluminium can be recycled indefinitely without losing their qualities. They are crushed and melted in factories and moulded into other products. Before that, of course, steel components like rims can be removed before crushing and reconditioned or sold as is.
Cables
The metal is separated from the plastic. Both products are recyclable and convertible into new cables and conductors for new vehicles.
What to Do with Old Car Parts – Recycle Depending on the Material
Metal is the easiest material to recycle in a vehicle because you can easily find a new life for it in various industrial applications, such as in manufacturing household appliances. Approximately 78% of a vehicle's weight is metal, mostly steel.
Still, there are other materials, such as plastics, textiles, liquids, and foam, that cannot be given a new life as easily due to various constraints, and we’re talking about thousands of tons every year.
How to Dispose of Non-Recyclable Car Wastes
Fortunately, we have recycling facilities and car wreckers in Australia who can help us dispose of auto wastes. That’s one advantage of selling a non-serviceable car to wreckers – they can safely process the removal of harmful liquids, gases, and residues
We’re highlighting here the residues from batteries, refrigerant, fuel, oil filters, mercury switches in ABS brakes, and gases that may remain in the AC. After safe removal of toxic materials, they are collected and stored per prevailing laws and regulations.
How to Recycle Tyres, Batteries & Non-toxic Fluids
Tyres, batteries, suspension lubricating oils, and brakes are just a few examples of products that cannot be recycled to become eco-parts. Fortunately, there are many ways to reuse them without causing health and environmental problems.
Tyres, for example, may undergo a grinding process that results in a powder used in the manufacture of products such as carpets, slippers, and asphalt. You can even start being creative and ‘upcycle’ them into garden furniture and pots. Used engine oil can be used to paint wooden fences or to clean tools in your garage.
Obviously, you can’t recycle a whole car by yourself, so it’s best to let the professionals do it for you. Find the wreckers near you here!
Recycling Car Parts and the Environment
There are economic and environmental gains in car part recycling. The economic aspect is clear – the wreckers are in business, and you earn some dough from your rusty pile of junk.
You may not see it as clearly, but the benefit to the environment is as clear as day. Producing new car parts release massive amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, deplete our energy sources, and tax the Earth overall.
Without proper recycling, we allow hazardous fluids to leak into and contaminate our water tables and vegetation. It’s a slow death, in other words.
And can you imagine seeing abandoned cars wherever you turn? If we didn’t have car wreckers and car recycling facilities, we’d have less space to use for productive purposes and places would be crowded with junk, posing health and safety risks to humans.
Car recycling keeps our planet clean, both underneath and above-ground, no doubt about that.
What About Electric Cars and the Environment?
Will the wastes from end-of-life EVs be better for us and the environment?
Electric vehicles are seen as a green alternative to ICE vehicles. In recent years, the auto manufacturers have done their part to contribute to a more sustainable future.
Not only are they Earth-friendlier because of their low-to-no emissions, but their recycling process is also easier to the planet. EV and hybrid batteries are made of lithium ions, which weigh less, have greater autonomy, and recyclable.
The absence of traditional mechanical components such as clutch, filters, and timing belts not only reduces maintenance cost but, more importantly, reduces junked parts and fluids.
In short, the importance of electric cars in helping our ailing planet cannot be understated.
What About You and the Environment?
Saving Earth is a big word that calls for big action, but it doesn’t mean you can’t do your bit. Not letting a rundown car rot in your yard and calling in the wreckers is a no-brainer, but you know what?
It’s one way to help the environment – yeah, it’s a big word, so why don’t you just call the wreckers nearest you now? Wondering about where to find the 'car part recycling near me?' Our directory can help you contact them, so don’t waste any more time!