The Environmental Impact Of Vehicle Dismantling

In 2002 there were roughly 30 million Vehicles being used in the United Kingdom

. Each year about 2 million vans and cars are sent for scrapping due either to age or road traffic accidents. Also, roughly, 2 million new vehicles are recorded as new and on the road.

The average vehicle is composed of many different types of materials each of which has to be dealt with separately within the dismantling and recycling process. As the content of ferrous metals in the average car as fallen due to lighter construction and fuel efficiency measures the amount of plastics has increased. This has led to a rise in the more difficult to recycle components within the car or van itself.

Referring to the Annual report, 2001, from ACORD, the average content of a vehicle breaks down as follows.

Ferrous metals68%

Non-ferrous metals8%

Plastics9%

Glass3%

Tyres3%

Rubber2%

Fluids2%

Battery1%

Electrical Parts1%

Process polymers1%

Carpets1%

Other1%

The combination of these materials within the car parts makes extraction extremely difficult.

Some can only be ground and disposed of in landfill. Tyres form a major part of the vehicle dismantling arena, being a consumable part they form a major part of the whole picture. For instance, in 2001, in the United Kingdom, there were more than 50 million tyres scrapped. the enormity of the situation takes a little getting used to.

Legislation imposed on the vehicle dismantling process has helped to identify the problem and quantify it, but not solve it. Car and van breakers have come under a new regime that allows little flexibility in the way that these substances are dealt with.

The process of complete vehicle recycling must start with the obvious and that is the removal of working and serviceable parts for re-use by other users of the same type of vehicle. The vehicle breaking industry has been successfully doing this for a long time. This has now led to a parts replacement service linked by the internet and offering guarantees and fast delivery services.

Next most obvious has to be the recycling of the ferrous metals that form the majority of the vehicle's makeup. The content of ferrous metals has fallen over recent years due to the increased use of plastics but it still forms a significant portion of the overall and is the easiest to remove and recycle into new ferrous products.

There are so many separate processes required to recycle and re-make a vehicle into new and useful parts and products, but none is more needed than the process and standardisation of recycling plastic.

Because of their qualities, such as weight reduction, tooling and moulding ease, plastics have become more common over the last 25 years. In 1984 a mere 8.5% of an average car was made of plastic whereas today, the figure has risen to a more considerable 11%. The fuel savings over the lifetime of the vehicle help to justify this extra usage. However due to non-standardisation of the polymer types, the recycling of this plastic is problematic. An industry wide standard to mark the plastics with its polymer type would be the first and most sensible route to higher recycling rates and perhaps would avoid a significant proportion of the 121,000 tonnes of automotive plastic that is land filled every year.

The process of attaining higher recycling rates for dismantled vehicles is a growing and organic movement, with many different areas of expertise coming together to provide the answers. It is a worthwhile and valiant effort, one that once achieved will see a massive reduction in the amount of waste buried back into the earth because we have little or no idea what to do with it.

by: kingpinseo

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