What Students in Automotive Training Should Know About Auto Recycling
Cars: you love them, and you wish you could keep them forever. But what happens when they’ve reached the end of their rope and it’s time to say goodbye? This is where recycling comes in. Automobiles are the world’s most heavily recycled consumer product, with millions of cars being recycled around the world yearly. About 80 per cent of a vehicle’s parts are recycled. On top of that, steel is one of the most recycled products. And what is steel often used for? Yep, you guessed it: making more cars.
But why is recycling vehicles important? And how far exactly can the benefits of doing it go? Here are a few things students in automotive training might want to know.
It’s Big Business, and Small at the Same Time
While Canadian figures are a little harder to come by, as of 2016, the auto recycling industry was contributing $25 billion per year in gross domestic product to the United States’ economy. Ironically enough, many auto recycling companies are quite small in size, with more than half of them employing 10 people or less, with the companies often being family-owned.
This means that car recycling is a significant business in its own right. Furthermore, auto recycling companies can provide parts that cost 20 to 80 per cent less than new ones. Considering how many vehicles reach the end of their lifespan every year worldwide, there is plenty for those companies to work with on a regular basis. Given these facts, don’t be surprised if parts you’ve worked on at automotive training school are recycled themselves!
Auto Recycling Can Even Lead to New Cars—Among Other Things
The North American auto recycling industry does plenty of good for the environment. It saves about 85 million barrels worth of oil every year from being used for manufacturing replacement auto parts. In addition, in both Canada and the U.S., enough steel comes out of the auto recycling industry to make around 13 million new cars each year. In fact, 65 per cent of a vehicle is comprised of steel and iron, and recycled steel typically makes up about 25 per cent of the average car’s body.
Those Doing Their Automotive Training Will Be Blown Away by Auto Recycling
While we’re on the subject of auto recycling’s environmental benefits, students in automotive training might be interested to know that auto recycling isn’t just applicable to metal and steel. In fact, several other parts of a car can be put to good use as well, including car batteries (up to 99 per cent of which can be recycled) and car tires, which are often recycled into footwear such as sandals. Additionally, experts claim that the recycling of metal uses 74 per cent less energy than it would take to produce it. For all these reasons, it’s not hard to see just how important recycling is to the auto industry!
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