Automobiles have for long been the bête -noise of environmentalists. They cause pollution. They guzzle fuel. They require way too many resources – natural resources at that – for manufacturing. The list goes on and on.
While these complaints are justified, one interesting fact about the automotive industry often gets overlooked. Automotive manufacturers are among the most efficient recyclers in the U.S. and auto recycling is the 16th largest industry in the country.
According to the Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA), the auto recycling industry has been working towards environmental conservation and providing green employment for more than three quarters of a century now.
There are approximately 7,000 vehicle-recycling operations around the country – ranging from the local junkyards to global scrap metal recyclers like Sims Metal Management that have the capabilities to process end-of-life vehicles.
Automakers – the conscious keepers of the recycling industry?
Automakers are among the most proficient corporate recyclers in the country. They’re constantly innovating ways to increase recycling opportunities and thanks to their efforts, advances in
us green technology, and a general increase in awareness levels, automobiles are now the most recycled consumer product in the world.
In fact, 95 percent of retired vehicles are processed for recycling each year, according to the ARA report. But even within the auto industry, there are a few names whose efforts towards auto and scrap metal recycling shine through.
A couple of names that come to mind are Mazda and Toyota that have taken giant strides in manufacturing easy to dismantle cars, reduce waste, and reuse materials wherever possible.
Mazda, for example, has poured massive amounts of resources into researching automobile designs that take into consideration ease of dismantling to simplify the recovery of parts and materials that can be reused. Thanks to the efforts of their research team, the automobile maker has achieved the recyclability ratio of 90 percent or better for its cars when the industry standard is about 80 percent.
