A Quick Look At The Global Scrap Car Industry
25th May, 2017
We recently regaled you with some pretty nifty facts about our scrap car industry in the UK and Europe. This week, we’re looking at an even bigger picture; if anything, the global scrap car industry is even more impressive. Don’t believe us? Well…
Global Scrap Car Industry Facts
- Every year, the amount of fluids and oils reclaimed safely from scrap cars is equal to 8 Exxon Valdez Disasters
If you’re lucky enough not to know about the Exxon Valdez disaster, the main thing to know is that it’s one of the largest accidental oil spills in history. An oil tanker (owned by American oil company Exxon) hit a reef in Alaska and spilled 10.8 million US gallons of oil into the water. It was exactly as catastrophic as it sounds. But it does put into perspective exactly how much hazardous fluid is recycled from cars around the world each year (well over 80 million gallons) – making that feat all the more amazing!
- Over 25 million tons of materials are recycled from scrap cars every year
In the past, we were still chucking relatively large amounts of material on landfill. Certain things like plastic and rubber we knew we should recycle, but we just couldn’t figure out how. Today though, very little gets wasted, whether it’s plastic, glass, rubber, metals like iron and aluminium, electronics and much more. All this means that only a bare minimum of material ends up on landfill. We’re cutting down on that too – something we’re pretty good at here at Scrap Car Network!
- The average car’s body is made from 25% recycled steel
Ah, sustainability at its finest! That’s the beauty of the scrap car industry – lots of those materials we mentioned above often go on to new lives in a brand-new car. The scrap car sector props up the mainstream motor industry pretty well using this system; it saves not only on the material itself, but also on the massive amounts of energy it would have otherwise taken to fabricate it.
- 99% of car batteries can be recycled
We bet you knew you could recycle your car battery – but did you know how many others could? Car batteries fall squarely in the category of ‘hazardous materials’, so it’s just as well they can be recycled properly. Most people prefer taking them back to where they bought them in order to do so, but it’s worth saying that at Scrap Car Network we can recycle your car battery just as well as the rest of it.
- The international car recycling industry is barely 75 years old
It’s probably no surprise to you that environmental initiatives as a whole have only been around a relatively short time. After all, we’ve not always had the technology to realise the true effects of our actions on the environment. The important thing though is that we do now, and our attitudes and technology are improving with every passing year. With that in mind, the sheer size of our global infrastructure is nothing to sniff at, and it’s getting more efficient all the time!
At Scrap Car Network, we’re all about efficiency. It’s important to us to keep up with the times, which is why we’re hugely passionate about recycling every bit of your scrap car that we can. What’s more, when you scrap your car with us, you’re helping to improve lives too! Every car we process means that we’re able to send a portion of our profits to our partner charity, Recycling Lives, who work tirelessly to help the unemployed and homeless get back on their feet.
Visit our homepage to enter your car reg and postcode, and start scrapping your car today!
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