We are used to hearing about cars being scrapped at junkyards – where giant cranes smash the worn-out motor into suitcase-sized cubes. But scrapping does not have to mean a pile of junk.
It also does not have to cause harmful environmental damage. In fact, when done properly, car scrapping can have many green benefits.
4 Major green benefits of car scraping
1. Recycled Materials
A car is made of a wide variety of materials that can be reused when it is scrapped at the end of its life. Glass, metals and even rubber can be recycled for use in new products such as floor tile, shoes, or other automobile parts. This makes car recycling one of the most important and largest-scale forms of material reuse in the world.
Often, car recycling involves a lot of sorting and manual labour. For example, a vehicle’s metal may contain several different alloys that need to be separated out and sent to their respective metal manufacturers. This is not an easy task and usually requires mechanical shears to break up the metal into individual pieces. The resulting piles of sorted metal are called scrap metal. This is a valuable source of material for many manufacturing processes, including making new cars.
After the reusable materials are removed from a junked car, scrap processors shred the remainder and sell it to steel mills to make new iron and steel. Almost eleven million tons of recycled steel is produced from end-of-life cars each year.
Some people also repurpose parts from their old cars for home and garden use. For example, old tires can become planters or benches, and metal can be used to create furniture, ductwork, or decorative accents. While this is not as effective a form of recycling as the production of new materials, it does help reduce waste.
2. Reduced Emissions
Generally, old cars produce a lot of pollution which is bad for the environment. When these vehicles are scrapped, they are replaced with new, clean cars that do not produce as much pollution. This helps to reduce the overall amount of pollution on the planet.
This is a good thing because too much pollution can cause serious health problems, so it is important to take steps to reduce the amount of pollution that we produce. Another benefit of scrapping cars is that it can save a lot of energy that would otherwise be used to make metal. For example, to create steel for new cars, substantial amounts of energy are needed. When the metal is recycled, less energy is required, which can help to cut down on the amount of greenhouse gases that are produced.
There is a limit to how much pollution can be reduced by simply replacing older vehicles with new ones. For example, the emissions rates of older vehicles can vary substantially depending on the driving conditions they are subjected to. A poorly designed scrappage program can end up causing more air quality problems than it solves.
One way to reduce this problem is to target the vehicle scrappage subsidy based on the estimated future emissions of each vehicle. This can improve cost-effectiveness by a substantial margin.
3. Reduced Fuel Consumption
A car scrapping policy reduces fuel consumption by reducing the number of vehicles on the road. As newer models replace these older cars, the total amount of vehicle travel will decrease. This lowers energy requirements and CO2 emissions, as well as lowering congestion and pollution levels.
The scrapping process itself is more complex than Hollywood shows it. The vehicles are first towed away to a scrapyard, where they are dismantled and separated into various components for recycling. The metal is reused for other car parts and even consumer electronics. This is a better option than simply sending the cars to regular dumps, which waste many of these reusable materials.
However, not all scrapping policies are cost-effective. A flat subsidy that pays a single price for any drivable vehicle over a certain age can cause households to scrap vehicles with few remaining miles (all else equal), causing them to miss the benefits of reduced fuel consumption and emissions. This is known as adverse selection.
A more effective solution is to target the subsidy based on the estimated future emissions of a vehicle. This approach can significantly reduce the fiscal costs of a scrappage program, to around $300 per ton of carbon dioxide reduced. Future research could refine these calculations and take into account behavioural responses to the program, which are likely to reduce costs even further.
4. Reduced Carbon Footprint
The emissions from just one end-of-life vehicle are equal to those of 11 new cars, which is why it makes sense that the government would want to get rid of them.
However, a major concern with car scrappage schemes is that they are often more costly than other emissions reduction policies. A recent study shows that a subsidy for scrapping vehicles can cost up to $500 per ton of CO2 reduced. A much better option would be to increase the taxes on older vehicles to encourage their owners to buy newer, more energy-efficient models.
To improve the cost-effectiveness of scrappage subsidies, it is possible to target them based on an estimate of the future emissions rate of each vehicle. This approach can reduce the cost by roughly half. Although this assumption omits many behavioural responses, such as driving behaviour changes, future research could refine these calculations.
Another way to cut costs is to invest in recycling the metals and plastics that are found in an old car. The best way to do this is by getting in touch with a professional car scrapyard Toronto team that will give you top dollar for your old vehicle’s materials and even help with the process of recycling.
These are the major green benefits of scrapping a car in Toronto. Thus, if you are looking for a professional company to scrap your old car in Toronto, you can count on Cash or Scrap Cars GTA. We are a leading scrap car removal company serving Toronto, North York, Vaughan, Brampton & GTA for over 20+ years. Our junk car removal Toronto team ensures that you go through a smooth car scrapping process and get top cash for your junk car. Call us at 416-414-2977 to get a free price quote