How Do We Keep Our Scrapyards Safe?

22nd Dec, 2017

Here at Scrap Car Network, we’re committed to being the very best. That means getting you, our customers, the very best prices when you’re trying to get cash for your car, and making it as easy as possible as you do so, too. Alongside that, our ethics are equally important to us as an organisation, and maintaining your trust is hugely important to us. Ensuring the quality and safety of our scrapyards is just one of the ways we do that, so this week on the blog we thought it was worth giving you the inside scoop on exactly how!

Dealing With The Most Common Hazards

At Scrap Car Network, every single one of our partners is an Authorised Treatment Facility, which means they have the very highest standards of safety on their sites. They ensure that everyone who works on their sites is fully equipped with the proper safety equipment, known in the industry as Personal Protective Equipment. Dealing with scrap cars on a daily basis means coming into contact with all sorts of sharp and rusty materials, so safety gloves, safety goggles and hard hats are always required at the very minimum.

The issue of large moving vehicles is also one that all of our partners have to contend with. Between 2001 and 2010, over 50 people died as the result of being hit with a moving vehicle. We’ll save you the maths – that works out to roughly one every couple of months, which is still far too many. As a result, the scrapyards we work with have firm policies in place about how these vehicles are driven, and how people should move around them. Ensuring the safety of their employees is their very top priority.

Preventing Fires In Scrap Yards

Fires can be a serious issue within the confines of a scrapyard – you may have even seen a few recent news stories where improperly stored waste resulted in huge blazes, burning hazardous materials and releasing harmful toxins into the air. The Environment Agency – who licenses and monitors all ATFs – has been giving this issue a particular focus over the past year, introducing a range of new mandatory guidelines for scrapyards to abide by.

Now, all new scrapyards (and a number of existing ones) have to submit Fire Prevention plans in order to prove that they’re minimising the risk of fires. Piles of waste and ELVs (End of Life Vehicles: another word for scrap cars) have to be ‘quarantined’ – set in piles with at least 6 metres between them, so that any potential fire can’t spread. Scrapyards also have to ensure they have access to a certain amount of water with which to fight the fire, and the ability to retain this water afterwards so it doesn’t contaminate the surrounding environment. It’s a lot of rules, but trust us – it’s worth it for the safety!

This sort of thing is exactly why the Environment Agency goes to such great lengths to monitor Authorised Treatment Facilities; to guarantee their safety, quality and the hygiene of their business practices. Every single one of our scrap yards is an ATF here at Scrap Car Network – so when you scrap your car with us, you can do it safe in the knowledge that you’re doing it with the best. Just enter your car reg and postcode into our website’s homepage, and then you’re ready to go!

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter: @ScrapCarNetwork