In today’s world, almost everything falls under the ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ category. More so, even electronic goods can be recycled to the smallest of parts. But what happens to bigger things like you car or motorcycle? Well, they too can be recycled. You will be surprised to know that as much as 90% of your car can be recycled. Here’s what can be recycled in your car and what it is made into:
1. Seventy percent of your car is made of metal. Right from the skeleton to the smallest of screws are made of metal. Once a car gets to the scrap yard and rest of the materials from the car are taken off, the remaining metal body is crushed and processed. This processed scrap then is sent to metal companies to make new metal goods.
2. The upholstery in a car is ripped off to be recycled into new floor mats or can be used in making concrete. The seat and other materials are powdered and made into new foam. These are also remade into new floor mats, while the glass in the windshield is crushed and used to make concrete.
3. The tires are the most important part of your car and they are recycled to form everyday materials of which they are an integral part. It is estimated that every year, USA recycles almost 2 billion tires. Tires are burnt and used to make roads as it makes the roads stronger and long lasting.
4. The batteries in a car are long lasting in nature and the acids in them get added to new batteries. Most often, car batteries are recycled and make 80% of new batteries. The batteries of a car contribute majorly to produce lead.
5. Many times, cars that go into the scrap yard aren’t all worn down. There are parts that still have a good life and can be used further with a bit of fine tuning. Such parts of a car are carefully taken off and are processed a little to be made into a newer part.
A recycled car helps a lot in terms of reducing the amount of new manufacturing as well as preventing pollution of the immediate environment. Apart from scrap yards, there are also dealers who buy parts like transistors, tires and batteries for a price. So, on an average one recycled car becomes a part of ten to fifteen new cars.