AUTOMOTIVE
RECYCLING
RECYCLING
™
The Official Publication of the Automotive Recyclers Association
Special Edition
With the environment being important for automotive recyclers for decades,
educating consumers on the “green” value of the industry
should be a priority for every recycling business.
A Greener World
A Greener World
AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLING SPECIAL REPORT
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008
10/10/08
10:00 AM Page 1
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008
10/10/08
10:01 AM Page 2
S P E C I A L G R E E N R E P O R T
" A U T O M O T I V E R E C Y C L I N G
3
iS
to
ck
Ph
ot
o.
co
m
/J
am
ie
Fa
rr
an
t
hen you think of recy-
cling in this day and age, most people immedi-
ately think of the milk cartons, newspapers, and
soda cans that make us all earth-friendly when
we set them aside in our weekly trash. We feel
good about helping the environment in some
small way. But what many may not realize is that
today’s cars are the most recycled consumer
items in the world.
This special report investigates the industry of
automotive recycling from its earliest begin-
nings, to current auto recycling methods and
issues, to forecasting future trends, all as it
relates to the consumer, therefore these articles
are written to speak to them directly. This is cer-
tainly not an exhaustive look at every detail of
the business, but merely our attempt to compile
information to make a statement about the use-
fulness of automotive recycling. We envision this
piece sitting on the counter of every automotive
recycling business to educate their customers on
the consumer benefits of auto recycling. We
hope it inspires auto recyclers to talk more about
the “green” value of recycling car parts to fur-
ther the growth of this valuable and much need-
ed global industry.
– Caryn Suko Smith, Editor
Automotive Recycling as an industry has been taking care of the environment
for over 65 years. Here is a look at its small beginnings, present day standards,
and the future growth of this now $10 billion a year industry.
W
Aut
omotive Recy
clin
g
Green Report
a greener
world
FOR COPIES OF THIS SPECIAL REPORT, CONTACT THE AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLERS ASSOCIATION AT (703) 385-1001.
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008
10/10/08
10:01 AM Page 3
4
A U T O M O T I V E R E C Y C L I N G
" S P E C I A L G R E E N R E P O R T
he year was 1942,
and America was at war. Auto-
mobile production was at a
standstill as U.S. manufactur-
ing capacity was channeled
into the production of tanks,
ships, guns, and other imple-
ments of war. To feed the pro-
duction lines, the U.S. govern-
ment required a steady supply
of steel scrap. At the top of the
list of sources were the auto-
motive recyclers with their ready inventory of sal-
vage vehicles.
At the time, the automotive recycling industry was
barely 10 years old. The first recyclers had come on
the scene in the 1920s and 1930s, dismantling end-
of-life vehicles to sell for scrap. By the mid-1930s,
with the realization that the value of the parts on
these vehicles exceeded the scrap value, their focus
had shifted to selling recycled parts.
When the United States entered World War II,
automotive recyclers saw their role as supporting
the war by providing the parts to keep vehicles run-
ning while automobile production was halted. But
the federal government had other ideas, issuing a
mandate in 1943 that all salvage vehicles must be
converted to scrap for manufacturing.
To combat this directive, the auto recyclers band-
ed together to form the National Automobile
Wrecking Association (NAWA) and sent represen-
tatives to Washington, D.C., to negotiate on their
behalf. Although the names of those representa-
tives are lost in history, they were the first to be a
voice in Washington on behalf of automotive recy-
Introduction
By Ginny Whelan
In recent years, greener practices have become priority for businesses.
Of the world’s top 500 companies, 87 percent publish social responsibility
reports to address climate change.
According to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, “Auto recycling
is as old as the car itself.” This business uses green recycling as a firmly-
established business standard. Auto recyclers have known for years that
the best way to reduce liability and increase the bottom line is to recycle.
The current random acts of the “green business model” do not represent
the business standard for auto recyclers. They have decades of long-estab-
lished green standards. Our numbers are at the top, with 82 percent of the
vehicle being recyclable and even more impressive is that 95 percent of
the vehicles coming off the road are recycled. These are the best recycling
numbers in the world.
Automobiles are recycled for reuse sales, compliance, waste reduction,
and the environmental bottom line. Year-in, year-out, since the 1940s, the
auto recycling industry has provided a model of the most efficient green
business machine.
The international Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) has 65 years
of a successful green vision. In 1994, ARA members developed a green
group of auto recyclers called Certified Automotive Recyclers (CAR).
CAR has demonstrated environmental performance that goes beyond
regulatory requirements to include best management practices that help
protect the environment. Worldwide auto recycling associations have devel-
oped green programs based on this model. Working with regulatory depart-
ments, ARA has established ECAR (www.ecarcenter.org) to assist auto
recyclers in all the states with developing green compliance.
Educating the consumer about green auto recycling is the responsibility
of every automotive recycling business every day. Sales receipts printed for
a sold recycled auto part should thank the customer for improving the qual-
ity of the earth with each purchase. Every sales associate should thank the
customer for considering a business that sells green recycled auto parts
to protect the earth.
Aut
omotive Recy
clin
g
Green Report
rear-view
mirror
By Lynn Novelli
Leading the American Way
of Environmental
Awareness and Reuse
T
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008
10/10/08
10:01 AM Page 4
S P E C I A L G R E E N R E P O R T
" A U T O M O T I V E R E C Y C L I N G
5
clers, a role that the Automotive
Recyclers Association (ARA) con-
tinues to fill to this day.
The NAWA representatives
won the day, successfully convincing
the Office of Price Administration
and the War Production Board that
recycled parts to keep old cars running
were as essential as scrap to support the war.
For the first time, the federal government was jolt-
ed into an awareness of the automotive recycling
industry and its contribution to the economy. Both
the Office of Price Administration and the War
Production Board recognized NAWA as the official
spokesperson for the burgeoning automotive recy-
cling industry.
History repeats itself, and it was less than 10 years
later that the scrap supply for a war became an issue
again, this time during the Korean War. By this
time, NAWA was firmly entrenched in its role as
industry spokesperson, and the federal government
approached the organization for assistance in plan-
ning for wartime scrap needs. NAWA responded by
organizing a committee to collaborate with Wash-
ington on providing a reasonable solution that
would support the war and maintain the recycling
industry’s livelihood.
A time of influence
Two significant events occurred after the Korean
War. The first was that the national War Production
Board presented NAWA with a certificate, recog-
nizing its contribution to the war. The second was
the rapid expansion of the automotive recycling
industry, brought on by the return of thousands of
war surplus vehicles to the United States.
By the mid-1950s, NAWA had changed its name
to the National Automobile and Truck Wrecking
Association (NATWA) to be more representative of
the industry. Around that same time, the federal
government wanted to curtail the shipment of war
salvage to the United
States. NATWA was able to
intervene to keep the vehicles
coming and the industry growing.
In 1959, the industry took another step forward
when the first Teletype machines appeared in recy-
cling yards. This was the beginning of an era of
unprecedented growth as the automotive recycling
industry achieved more widespread acceptance and
recognition for its economic, if not its environ-
mental, impact. NATWA undertook an aggressive
public relations campaign to promote the industry
to consumers, legislators, and key decision-makers
at the state and federal level through its own film-
strip,
Used Doesn’t Mean Used Up.
Environmental awakening
During this period, U.S. consumers lacked any
environmental awareness, and few understood the
ultimate impact of recycling vehicle components.
To most consumers, buying used parts was an eco-
nomic decision, not an environmental one, and the
neighborhood junkyard was a familiar part of the
urban landscape. The typical idea of a junkyard in
the mind of the consumers of the day was “an old
boy in bib overalls setting on a stool and beating
the copper out of an old engine with a couple of
mangy dogs roaming around,” says ARA veteran
and Past President Norman Dulaney, now 90.
Right or wrong, that was the popular image of the
industry when Lady Bird Johnson’s Keep America
Beautiful initiative swept across the country and the
media in 1965. According to a February 19, 1965,
Time magazine article about the Keep America
Beautiful campaign, “Also in for a sharp crackdown
Far left: Dismantling area of the early
days of auto recycling; Center: Example
of a modern parts storage area at
Carcone’s Auto Recycling, Aurora,
Ontario, Canada. Below: NATWA at
a trade show (1970s). Inset: NATWA
convention dinner attendees (1966).
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008
10/14/08
1:53 PM Page 5
6
A U T O M O T I V E R E C Y C L I N G
" S P E C I A L G R E E N R E P O R T
is a pet Johnsonian peeve – ‘unsightly, beauty-
destroying junkyards and auto graveyards along our
highways.’”
The article continued, “The litter of dead car car-
casses is bothering more and more civic groups,
such as the National Council of State Garden Clubs.
Minnesota’s Senator Eugene McCarthy has even
urged the use of excise taxes on gasoline to subsi-
dize the scrapping of cars. The trouble is twofold:
1) as population and incomes increase, more cars
are made, and they have ever shorter lives; 2) the
price of scrap metal has dropped as the steel indus-
try has converted from open-hearth furnaces,
which use up to 45 percent scrap metal, to oxygen
furnaces, which use only 27 percent scrap. The
price an auto wrecker gets for his scrap has fallen
to around $10 a car, with the result that many
wreckers have allowed car carcasses to pile up, in
hopes of a rise in the market.”
At the urging of Mrs. Johnson, Congress created
and President Johnson then signed the Highway
Beautification Act in 1965, one clause of which
required cost-sharing grants for screening or relo-
cating of automotive recycling operations away
from interstate and other major highways. This was
one of more than a dozen acts related to the envi-
ronment that were created during LBJ’s presiden-
cy, awakening the environmental consciousness of
Americans for the first time.
At the time, the laws seemed overly restrictive, but
looking back, 40 years later, recyclers now consid-
er the LBJ era as a turning point for the automo-
tive recycling industry. “[Lady Bird] drew a lot of
attention to salvage yards, and maybe she did us a
favor,” says Dulaney, who testified at the Keep
America Beautiful conference in Washington,
D.C., in 1965. “Recyclers were inspired to take
pride in their business as part of their communi-
ties.” The Highway Beautification Act also raised
awareness of the automotive recycling industry
among a new generation of Washington legislators
and bureaucrats.
Collaboration pays off
Scrap prices, as the
Time magazine article
described in 1965, stayed low for several years, and
thousands of junk vehicles were abandoned nation-
wide. “New England and parts of Michigan were
overrun with junk cars,” recalls Sol Toder, another
ARA Past President.
This eventually led to development of a Com-
merce Department advisory committee on scrap in
the mid-1960s, which published a report on the
problem in 1966. A Department of the Interior
1967 report,
Automobile Disposal, a National Problem,
detailed the results of a Bureau of Mines fact-find-
ing survey of the auto wrecking industry across the
country. At the time, Toder says, “Everyone thought
we’d go out of business. But actually, it did us a lot
of good.” NATWA responded with its own report
on automotive recycling that played a major role
in building a more positive reputation for the
industry.
NATWA continued to report to the Commerce
Department for the next several years with the goal
of collaborating to solve the junk vehicle problem.
Over the years, the constructive relationship bet-
ween the two groups continued to flourish. When
the steel industry raised the issue of contamination
of steel scrap by copper wire from automotive cir-
cuit boards, NATWA collaborated with the Com-
merce Department to persuade the auto industry
to convert to printed circuit boards that eliminated
the copper wire and enhanced their recyclability.
Modern era of automotive recycling
By 1970, the environmental movement was start-
ing to gain traction among middle-class Americans.
Eager to show their support for saving the Earth,
Americans celebrated the first Earth Day in 1970. By
this time, automotive recyclers, through NATWA,
had earned a reputation with state and federal gov-
ernments as an industry that promoted and pro-
tected the environment, and it was time to expand.
G
R
E
E
N
REPORT
In the 1970s, there was another push to modernize and
beautify auto recycling facilities. Wilbert’s, Inc., of Webster,
New York, exemplifies a facility that went through a facelift.
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008
10/14/08
1:53 PM Page 6
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008
10/10/08
10:01 AM Page 7
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008
10/10/08
10:01 AM Page 8
S P E C I A L G R E E N R E P O R T
" A U T O M O T I V E R E C Y C L I N G
9
The increased focus on the recycling aspects of
the industry lead to another name change for the
association in 1972, adopting the Association of
Auto and Truck Recyclers (AATR) as its official new
title. The 1970s saw some major changes in the
industry, the beginning of what many members
consider the modern era of automotive recycling.
As automotive recycling became more accepted
and more lucrative, salvage pools came on the
scene. These are middlemen who acquire vehicles
from insurance companies, dealers, and private
individuals and auction them to the highest bidder.
Pools forever changed the automotive recycling
industry, Toder says, pushing up prices for salvage
and adding a third party to the relationship
between auto recyclers and insurance companies.
Computers began to infiltrate the industry during
the late 1970s and early 1980s for inventory locator
services. “The old hoot ‘n’ holler system was done
for,” Dulaney recalls, describing the obsolete open-
line telephone system that recyclers once relied on
for locating parts. “Computers made it faster and
easier to see which yards had what you needed.”
To reflect broader perspectives, in 1977, AATR
became the Automotive Dismantlers and Recyclers
of America (ADRA), and in 1982, ADRA again
changed the name, adopting the Automotive
Dismantlers and Recyclers Association to reflect the
emerging global nature of the business.
Throughout this period, “the industry mostly
thought a single yard with a hands-on owner was the
way to go,” Toder states. By the mid-1980s, the
approach to the business started to change, and
multi-yard businesses and conglomerates devel-
oped. Competition for salvage was fierce and inde-
pendent recyclers united in buying groups of their
own, a trend that continued into the 1990s.
By 1993, conglomerates, salvage pools, and com-
puters were all a normal part of doing business. The
association made its last name change, becoming
the Automotive Recyclers Association – an interna-
tional trade association – and gaining recognition
as a significant player in the American environment
and global economy.
From those early days as mom-and-pop operators
who stripped usable parts from old cars and crush-
ed the hulk, automotive recyclers have developed
into sophisticated business people in a technology-
driven industry that maximizes the recycling value
of every vehicle and enhances the environment and
the economy in the process.
N
Lynn Novelli, a longtime contributor to
Automotive Recycling magazine, is
a freelance writer based in Ohio.
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008
10/10/08
10:01 AM Page 9
1 0
A U T O M O T I V E R E C Y C L I N G
" S P E C I A L G R E E N R E P O R T
hen the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection recog-
nized auto recycler Gardner Auto Parts in
Pompano Beach as a certified “Green Yard” and
“an environmental leader,” according to the depart-
ment’s Jack Long, it was hardly the only agency and
community recognizing the key role today’s auto
recyclers play in protecting the environment.
The Blackstone River Watershed Council in
Cumberland, Rhode Island, for example, recently
presented its “2008 Environmental Excellence
Award” to auto recycler Bill’s Auto Parts for its
“commitment to the environment and (protecting)
the Blackstone River in particular.” John Marsland,
of the Friends of the Blackstone, said that Paul
D’Adamo, president of Bill’s Auto Parts, “not only
talks the talk, he walks the walk,” in terms of envi-
ronmental efforts and that he “sets a great exam-
ple for individuals and businesses to follow.”
A county environmental task force had similar
praise for John’s Auto Parts in Blaine, Minnesota,
this past May when it presented a recycling recog-
nition award to the auto recycler (see sidebar, p. 38).
These awards and honors are the most recent
indications that a growing number of regulators
and consumers now realize that a hybrid vehicle is
not the only way to reduce a vehicle’s environ-
mental footprint. Auto recyclers are not only com-
plying with environmental regulations by
protecting the environment in their daily activities,
but their very work – facilitating the recycling and
reuse of virtually every part of more than 4 million
automobiles every year – is keeping these vehicles
out of landfills and providing motorists with a
green alternative when their vehicles need parts.
“A lot of people don’t think of buying a used
auto part as having something to do with recy-
cling,” said Shannon Nordstrom, vice president
and general manager of Nordstrom’s Automotive,
an automotive recycling business in Garretson,
South Dakota. “But if you are reusing the parts, you
don’t have to produce new ones. You don’t need
new raw materials. You don’t need the energy that
producing those new parts requires. Reuse is the
best kind of recycling there is.”
The process
It can be helpful to understand why using a recy-
cled automotive part has both financial and envi-
ronmental benefits for vehicle owners by getting a
behind-the-scenes look at how today’s auto recy-
cling industry operates. Often that process begins
with an unpleasant occurrence, an auto accident,
which happens to the typical driver on average of
once about every seven years.
“The recycling process may actually start at the
accident scene,” Nordstrom said. “The tow com-
pany or other responders are responsible for clean-
up of glass or automotive fluids expelled at the
scene, and that cleaned up material often ends up
W
Aut
omotive Recy
clin
g
Green Report
rubber meets
road
By John Yoswick
Automotive Recycling Offers
Vehicle Owners Environmental
and Financial Benefits of “Reuse”
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008 10/10/08 10:01 AM Page 10
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008 10/10/08 10:02 AM Page 11
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008 10/10/08 10:02 AM Page 12
S P E C I A L G R E E N R E P O R T
" A U T O M O T I V E R E C Y C L I N G
1 3
back in the trunk of the vehicle for us as auto recy-
clers to process.”
If the insurance company declares that vehicle a
total loss, it goes to a salvage pool or auto auction,
which is where auto recyclers purchase their vehicles.
“We bring the vehicles we purchase at the salvage
pool to our property, and at that point,
inventory the vehicle, entering into our
computer system what parts on the vehicle
are saleable,” said Eric Schultz, chief finan-
cial officer with AAA Auto Salvage in
Rosemont, Minnesota.
From there, all fluids – oil, brake fluid,
transmission fluid, etc. – and anything
potentially hazardous are removed from
the vehicle, Schultz said. This includes:
• Removing and capturing the Freon or
air conditioning refrigerant, which can be
recycled for use in other vehicles, a process
for which recyclers’ technicians must meet
training and certification requirements.
• Draining transmission and brake fluids
along with oil, all of which Schultz’ com-
pany and many recyclers put to reuse in
waste oil burners to heat their company’s
buildings.
• Removing anti-freeze, which can be fil-
tered and sold for reuse.
• Removing the driveline or other parts
that contain fluids in order to be stored in
a way that prevents them from being
exposed to the elements and possible leakage into
soil or groundwater.
• Removing the battery, which if still good is stored
in an impervious covered container to prevent leak-
age of any acid until it is resold for use in another
vehicle. Unusable batteries are generally sold to an
EPA-registered buyer who can reclaim lead and
other reusable materials from the batteries.
• Removing and filtering gasoline or diesel fuel
for use in the auto recycler’s parts delivery vehicles.
• Selling tires in good condition for reuse. Scrap
tires are stored in a way that prevents rainwater
from collecting in them to avoid creating a breed-
ing ground for mosquitoes. Recyclers generally
have to pay a fee to have scrap tires removed, but
such tires are reused for power plant fuel or recy-
cled into road surface material, playground and
sports arena surfaces, and even some auto parts.
In recent years, auto recyclers have also led a
national voluntary effort to remove “mercury
switches” from vehicles. Automakers no longer use
switches containing mercury, but they can still be
found in 2003 and older vehicles, often in the
switches that automatically turn on lights under the
hood or trunk lid when open.
The switches are not dangerous when in use, but
if not removed before a vehicle is crushed or melt-
ed in the recycling process, the mercury from the
switch could be released. It takes only a small
amount of mercury to contaminate drinking water
or reach unsafe levels in fish. Just four years ago,
the EPA said that about 13 million acres of lakes
Automotive Recycling Facts
More than 95 percent of end-of-life vehicles go through a
recycling process with no added costs or taxes to consumers,
making cars perhaps the most recycled product in the United
States.
More than 84 percent of a vehicle (by weight) is recycled.
In addition to those parts sold for reuse, recycled vehicles
go back into making new cars, roads, buildings, carpeting,
furniture, and other home products, including garden mulch.
Source: United States Council for Automotive Research’s Vehicle Recycling Partnership
SEDA Environmental, LLC demonstrates environmentally-safe fluid re-
covery from a dismantled car; inset, mercury pellets from a vehicle.
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008 10/10/08 10:02 AM Page 13
1 4
A U T O M O T I V E R E C Y C L I N G
" S P E C I A L G R E E N R E P O R T
and 750,000 miles of streams were so polluted with
mercury that eating too much fish from those
waterways could pose health problems for children
and for women during pregnancy.
Over the past several years, more than 6,600 auto
recyclers have removed more than 1.3 million mer-
cury switches containing nearly 3,000 pounds of
mercury, which is being recycled. The program
expects to top the 4-million switch mark by August
of 2009.
Once all fluids and hazardous materials are
removed, Schultz and Nordstrom said, the “dry
vehicle” is generally moved to their storage lots for
anywhere between a few weeks or, if a newer vehi-
cle, up to two years. During this time, fenders, doors,
and other sheet metal parts from the vehicles are
sold to autobody shops, repairing other vehicles that
have been in accidents; engines, drivelines, and
transmissions are sold to mechanical repair shops
servicing vehicles; and everything from wheels to
seats are sold to the general public working on their
own vehicles.
Such recycling saves an estimated 85 million bar-
rels of oil every year that would otherwise have been
used in the manufacturing of new parts. It saves
enough steel to produce almost 13 million new
vehicles. “At the end of its lifecycle, what little is left
is flattened by a crusher and taken to a shredder,”
Nordstrom said. “Then that recycled metal
becomes part of the process again.”
Shredding of 12 to 15 million vehicles each year
creates 15 to 19 million tons of recycled steel each
year, according to the United States Council for
Automotive Research. Even “shredder fluff,” the
plastics, foams, carpeting, and non-metal materials
left from the vehicle is being recycled into such
things as carpet padding.
Automotive Recycling
Definitions
ARA
Automotive Recyclers
Association is a non-profit international
trade association representing automo-
tive recyclers dedicated to the efficient
removal and reuse of automotive parts
and the safe disposal of inoperable
motor vehicles.
Aftermarket
Vehicle accessories
that are not fitted by the manufacturer.
Aftermarket parts
New parts that
replace damaged parts. They may be a
generic part.
Automotive recycling
The effi-
cient, ecological disposal of inoperable
motor vehicles and reclaiming reusable
parts and components.
Automotive recycler
A professional
who purchases vehicles for re-use.
Dismantles vehicles, collects, and dis-
poses of fluids in an environmentally
responsible fashion, tests salvageable
parts, classifies and prices them for sale,
and disposes of remaining vehicle hulk.
CAR
Certified Automotive Recycler.
A designation awarded by ARA to recy-
clers who meet a set of standards for
general business practices, and environ-
mental and safety issues.
Dismantle
To take a used vehicle
apart for the purpose of reclaiming
usable parts. Dismantling takes place
in a dismantling bay.
ECAR
Environmental Compliance for
Automotive Recyclers. ECAR Center is a
“one-stop shop” for all automotive dis-
mantling and recycling operations and
provides comprehensive and up-to-date
environmental compliance assistance.
Electronic parts
In late-model
vehicles. Includes electronic fuel or
ignition systems, computer boards.
ELV or End-of-Life Vehicle
Any
vehicle that is deemed for parts or
recycling only.
Fluid recovery system
The system
the automotive recycler has set up to
collect and recycle or dispose of the flu-
ids remaining in salvage vehicles in an
environmentally-responsible fashion.
Gold Seal Certification
Awarded
to professional members of the
Automotive Recyclers Association
who have completed the Certified
Automotive Recycler’s Program.
Recyclers must meet 27 categories
of requirements and agree to follow a
number of strict professional business
practices, rules, and regulations.
Hard parts
Any parts that are
hard, except the sheet metal.
Late model vehicles
Vehicles
produced within the last five years
LKQ parts
Like kind and quality.
Describes replacement parts that are
of the same quality as the original prior
to an accident. LKQ parts can be new,
OEM replacement, or recycled parts.
OEM
Original equipment manufac-
turer. Refers to parts that are made by
the vehicle’s manufacturer, such as
Ford or Honda, either new or recycled.
Parts car
A vehicle that is pur-
chased and dismantled for the recovery
of reusable parts.
Pre-dismantling
The step prior
to taking the parts off the car. At this
stage, the dismantler identifies those
parts that are in demand and orders
that they be taken off the car for
inventory.
Repairable
A vehicle that can be
fixed (repaired).
Rebuilder
An individual who
rebuilds a vehicle.
Recycled OEM parts
Quality OEM
Parts removed from Total Loss Vehicles
or ELV’s and sold to replace damaged
parts in running vehicles.
Remanufactured parts
Used hard
parts that have been reconditioned to
the same quality as new.
Replacement part
A part that
replaces a damaged part on a vehicle.
Can be new or recycled.
Salvage or automotive recycling
yard
Facility vehicles can be processed
for recycling.
Scrapped/destroyed
The Vehicle
has been reclaimed for its metal con-
tent.
Sheet metal
Exterior metal parts
such as doors, fenders, and hoods.
Totaled vehicle
A determination
made by an insurance company when
the cost of repair plus the salvage value
is greater than the car’s Blue Book
value.
Recycled parts
Parts removed
from a damaged vehicle and cleaned
or reconditioned to be sold to replace
parts on another, running vehicle
damaged in an accident.
VIN
Vehicle Identification Number.
G
R
E
E
N
REPORT
One Auto Recycler’s Stats
W
inning a recycling recognition award this past
spring from the Anoka County Solid Waste
Abatement Advisory Task Force was a nice pat-on-the-
back for the team at John’s Auto Parts in Blaine,
Minnesota. But Harold Haluptzok, president of the fami-
ly-run business, has been serious about maximizing envi-
ronmental efforts at the company for many years.
Its 2007 stats for what the company helped reuse or
recycle (and otherwise keep out of landfills) speak for
themselves: 505 tons of copper, aluminum, and steel;
204 tons of tires; 343 pounds of refrigerant; 450 mer-
cury-containing switches; 1,790 gallons of antifreeze;
3,275 used oil filters; 5,459 spent lead-acid batteries;
18,500 gallons of used oil; and 23,525 gallons of waste
gas and diesel fuel.
As part of its environmental efforts, the company even
advertises that it accepts for reuse, recycling, or proper
disposal used batteries and vehicle fluids from cus-
tomers – all at no charge.
While these efforts are impressive, Haluptzok said his
company is just representative of many in the auto recy-
cling industry that facilitate the reuse and recycling of
millions of vehicles every year.
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008 10/10/08 10:02 AM Page 14
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008
10/14/08
1:53 PM Page 15
1 6
A U T O M O T I V E R E C Y C L I N G
" S P E C I A L G R E E N R E P O R T
The benefits
Choosing recycled parts when having your vehi-
cle repaired is a green option in a number of ways,
say auto recyclers. Certainly, it will save you some
green in your wallet as the parts are generally far
less expensive than new yet often carry the same or
better warranty. But just as importantly, reuse of
automotive parts through a trained, certified auto
recycler makes good environmental sense.
“The minute you drive your vehicle off the lot, it’s
a used car,” recycler Schultz said. “Why put a brand
new part on a used car? Why not give the environ-
ment a break and reduce, among other things, the
number of pollutants going into the air to produce
all of those new parts.”
Unlike the curb-side recycling most households
now do, automotive recycling doesn’t cost you any
money as a driver or taxpayer, points out Joey
Woodfin, CEO of EverDrive, a Virginia-based com-
pany that helps make recycled automotive parts
available at 6,000 retail locations, such as AutoZone
and PepBoys.
“In fact, you save money by choosing a recycled
automotive part,” he said. “If one part on your vehi-
cle breaks down, there are still 17,499 other used
moving parts on it. Why buy one new part, espe-
cially if you can save money on a guaranteed used
one and in the process help the environment by
saving the world 85 million barrels of oil per year.”
“It reuses an existing resource, saving all the orig-
inal resources that would have to go into making
that new part,” agreed Mike James of James
Environmental Management, a Texas-based com-
pany that provides environmental compliance
assistance to more than 1,000 auto recyclers and
scrap metal companies. “I think auto recycling and
recyclers represent the heart of what environmen-
talism is all about.”
Finding a green recycler
Now that you are ready to utilize automotive recy-
cling as it is intended, and you need used parts for
your vehicle, how do you find a green recycler?
Well, you want to ensure the automotive or auto-
body shop working on your car is choosing parts
from an environmentally compliant recycler. The
best way to guarantee this is to look for the Certified
Automotive Recycler (CAR) certification.
The CAR program was created in 1994 by the
Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) to facili-
tate and recognize auto recyclers with safety and
environmental compliance. CAR recyclers, for
example, participate in the voluntary national effort
to remove mercury-containing light switches from
vehicles to prevent the mercury from being
released into the environment.
“Customers of CAR certified recyclers can be
assured that the companies they are dealing with
are committed to ensuring their vehicles are dis-
mantled according to the industry’s highest envi-
ronmental and safety standards,” according to
Michael E. Wilson, ARA Executive Vice President.
“When choosing to purchase from a CAR facility,
you are ensuring protection to the environment
and helping to promote safe and responsible busi-
ness practices.”
For more information and a list of CAR recyclers,
visit the ARA Web site (www.a-r-a.org) or call the
association at (888) 385-1005.
N
John Yoswick is a freelance writer in Portland, OR, who has been writing
about the automotive industry since 1988. He can be contacted by e-mail
at jyoswick@SpiritOne.com.
G
R
E
E
N
REPORT
Recyclers and EPA Form a Partnership
to Protect the Environment
I
n some industries, business and federal regulators have
almost an adversarial role. Not so among auto recyclers.
Since 2002, for example, the Automotive Recyclers
Association (ARA) has partnered with the U.S. Environ-
mental Protection Agency (EPA) to create and maintain
a Web site that would provide auto recyclers with a one-
stop approach to environmental compliance information
and help.
The Environmental Compliance for Automotive Recyclers
(ECAR) Center Web site (www.ecarcenter.org) provides
useful, up-to-date assistance to help auto recyclers protect
the environment and comply with regulations.
The site attracts more than 200,000 visitors annually.
“ARA is at the forefront of providing information
designed to enable safe and environmentally-responsible
working conditions for the professional automotive recy-
cling industry,” ARA President Sandy Blalock said of the
ECAR Center. “We recognize the industry’s real need for
breakdowns of state-by-state and federal requirements
that apply specifically to our industry’s activities.”
Removing a
mercury switch
from a vehicle.
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008 10/10/08 10:02 AM Page 16
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008 10/10/08 10:02 AM Page 17
1 8
A U T O M O T I V E R E C Y C L I N G
" S P E C I A L G R E E N R E P O R T
s fuel prices continue to rise and
going green gains global momen-
tum, the Automotive Recyclers
Association (ARA) brings over
65 years of environmental con-
sciousness to the automotive
recycling industry as it con-
tinues to lead the way into a
greener future.
ARA has been at the
forefront of trans-
forming the auto-
motive recycling
industry and establishing green groups, such as
Certified Automotive Recyclers (CAR), which
ensure that environmental performance goes
beyond regulatory requirements. This includes
helping auto recyclers to establish best manage-
ment practices that help protect the environment.
As consumers turn to more cost effective cars in
the future and auto manufacturers continue to
introduce alternative fuel vehicles, the auto recycler
of the future will become diversified.
“I believe that the future of auto recycling is head-
ing down a path to become a more business diver-
sified, Internet-driven market,” said Dave Barzoff,
general manager of B Auto Parts located minutes
from downtown St. Louis, Missouri. “The consumer
benefits include recycling facilities that will carry a
more diversified inventory, such as refinished
wheels, remanufactured drivetrain components,
and aftermarket parts. Some recyclers will even
offer services, such as body and mechanical repair.”
Ginny Whelan, ARA Educational Foundational
President and ARA Past President agrees that con-
sumers’ choices in automobiles will help shape the
future business of auto recyclers and cause them to
become diversified.
“The consumer who once bought locally now
uses the Internet, and will continue to do so in the
future, to define the availability and price of recy-
cled auto parts,” said Whelan. “As the customer’s
automobile purchases and driving needs change,
so does the auto recycling business.
“Future auto recyclers will be impacted by the
shift to cleaner-burning, high-energy fuel source
automobiles and the building of an infrastructure
of alternative fuels. The infrastructure required for
End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) processing will require
advance technical education.”
As consumer trends indicate a continued rise in
the purchase of alternative fuel vehicles, such as
hybrids or electric cars, the automotive recycling
industry will diversify even more. They will help to
protect the environment by reducing waste and
the need to use natural resources to create new
auto parts.
The car fuel of the future will be a mixture of bat-
tery, electric, hydrogen fuel cells, solar panels, and
compressed air. The car body will offer new mate-
A
Aut
omotive Recy
clin
g
Green Report
fast
lane
By Michelle Keadle-Taylor
Automotive Recycling Industry
is Poised to Zoom into the Future
& Consumers Reap the Benefits
Dismantling the car of the future will require more special-
ized training to handle all the high-tech operating systems.
iS
to
ck
ph
ot
o.
co
m
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008 10/10/08 10:02 AM Page 18
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008 10/10/08 10:02 AM Page 19
2 0
A U T O M O T I V E R E C Y C L I N G
" S P E C I A L G R E E N R E P O R T
rials and shapes. The shape-shifting lightweight car
will transform its size. The car brain will feature a
powerful computer that will provide green data,
such as a universal data scan that contains the
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), assembly
part types, vehicle history, part recyclability, sus-
tainability, and ELV data.
“The automotive recycling plant of 2030 will be
designed for fuel station distributions,” said
Whelan. “They will have departments for
resale, which will include powerful com-
puter auto brains, high-definition
screens, speech recognition technology,
digital cameras, navigation equipment,
nano storage tanks, and plastic motors
driven by light and nano lens.
“Auto recyclers will sell recycled fuel
components. They will also be able to
recycle the body and brain of these cars,
which will not only protect our natural
energy sources but enable the consumer
to buy quality recyclable parts for their
alternative fuel vehicles at a fraction of the cost of
a new one.”
David Gold, vice president of Standard Auto
Wreckers in Ontario, Canada, says that future gen-
erations of auto recyclers genuinely care about the
environment and are taking recycling further by
“re-using” auto parts.
“Younger generation auto recyclers are passion-
ate about terms, such as recycled and we try to take
it one step further and make it the three “R’s”:
Reduce … Reuse … Recycle,” said Gold. “Reuse is
one step ahead of recycling in this equation. Re-using
parts means that there is less of a need to use our
precious natural resources to make new parts as well
as less energy and effort required to make new parts
when used parts are incorporated into the repair.
We want consumers to embrace our parts because
of this and the great savings they experience.
“Consumers, now and in the future, will be able
to purchase recycled auto parts and be confident
that they are of great quality at affordable prices.
Many progressive auto recyclers offer extended war-
ranties and product guarantees that rival new parts.
Consumers can order parts online and have the
parts shipped to the mechanic’s garage directly.
Increasingly, auto recyclers have photos and digital
images of all of their salvage online, and they have
the ability to e-mail pictures very easily, helping to
reduce return rates and problems and to ensure
there are no surprises on delivery. This will improve
even more as technology advances further.”
ARA University Leading the Way
T
he Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) has a long history of being
at the cutting edge of education. In 1968, it founded the ARA
Educational Foundation to provide advanced educational programs for
its members. ARA members are major proponents in establishing green busi-
ness practices and “green” groups, such as Certified Auto Recyclers (CAR).
CAR has demonstrated environmental performance that goes beyond regu-
latory requirements, thus raising the bar for other recyclers. CAR has attract-
ed worldwide attention and led to environmental certifica-
tion programs in the United States and Worldwide.
ARA continues to be at the leading edge of education
with its ARA University – a Web-based virtual training
campus developed by the ARA Educational Foundation.
The ARA University, an on-line platform, provides training
for today’s employees and the future workforce. Modules
for inventory specialist, sales associates, dismantlers, and
environmental and legal compliance are currently avail-
able. Other modules are being developed.
ARAU allows a company to enroll employees to study
and test at their own pace – at work or at home – with
the training available 24/7. The cost for an ARA member is
$49.95 per month for ten employees. The cost for non-
members is $99.95 per month for ten employees.
The curriculum, which is accessed with a user name and password, is pre-
sented in short chapters. A student can do one or more at a time, depending
on what they want. It utilizes flash, a program that mixes text with pop-up
pictures of parts and other images coming in from the sides. There is also a
presenter to add the human feel to the learning segments.
At the end of each segment there is a test. The student doesn’t advance
until he or she is totally comfortable with knowing the material. Also, yard
owners and managers have the ability, by time stamp and test scores, to
monitor an employee’s training.
“Now an employer has the ability to know that the employee actually
spent the time, finished the module, and gained comprehension of the mate-
rial,” said Ginny Whelan, ARA Educational Foundation President.
Whelan also said that as alternative fuel vehicles and other cars of the
future become more sophisticated, the more important education becomes.
“Education for auto recyclers about environmentally-sound management
practices, technical dismantling, and consumer market growth will mandate
quality training,” said Whelan. “One of the most valuable benefits of the
ARA University is its ability to deliver consistent training. The overall goal of
the University is to populate the industry with training for all the specialties
within auto recycling, including the sales and labor aspects.”
One of ARAU’s biggest fans, Jim Butler of Butler Auto Recycling, Inc., cur-
rently uses the training and sees it as a necessary tool for the future of auto
recycling. “If an automotive recycler is interested in being competitive in the
future,” said Butler, “it’s going to be critical that they standardize what they
are doing when it comes to training of all their inventory and sales people.
This is the best way I’ve seen yet to do this.”
Whelan predicts that in ARAU’s future is to become training for high school
level trade students to prepare for a career in auto recycling (see career side-
bar, p. 46). If you would like to learn more, please contact Ginny Whelan at
ginnyaraeducation@comcast.net or visit www.arauniversity.com.
G
R
E
E
N
REPORT
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008 10/10/08 10:02 AM Page 20
Inventory Specialist & Parts Grading
Legal Compliance
Motivation with DJ Harrington
Healthy Family Business
Forklift Training (RTFL)
Core Processing for More Sales
Stormwater Sampling
Removing and Recycling
Mercury Switches
Hybrid Training
HazMat Training
Leadership Training
PLUS Updated Web site!
Subscribe online today at
www.arauniversity.com
or call 954.202.6969
Special ARA member discount
Better training and better skills will give you a better business.
C
U
T
T
I
N
G
E
D
G
E
E
D
U
C
A
T
I
O
N
F
O
R
A
U
T
O
M
O
T
I
V
E
R
E
C
Y
C
L
E
R
S
ARA U TRAINING
Powered by K
KA
AIIZ
ZE
EN
N
It’s an easy and accessible way to train and enhance the
knowledge of your employees without having to spend
thousands on seminars and corporate trainers.
Track and Train every employee everyday,
24/7 365 days a year unlimited access
to a unique blend of Web-based training with
incredible resources unparalleled in the industry.
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008 10/14/08 1:27 PM Page 21
2 2
A U T O M O T I V E R E C Y C L I N G
" S P E C I A L G R E E N R E P O R T
Make a Career in
Automotive Recycling
I
mages of broken-down, rusted old cars piled in mile high heaps
alongside the highway are what come to mind to many of us
when we think about automotive recycling. Images of junkyards
still confuse the general public when it comes to the industry.
The truth is that the automotive recycling industry has known what
many of us have not until more recently – and that is that automo-
tive recycling conserves energy and resources (both natural and man-
ufactured), contributes to maintaining a clean, non-polluted environ-
ment, and reduces consumer out-of-pocket costs for parts and liabili-
ty insurance.
Auto recyclers have led the way to establishing green standards
and boast the best recycling numbers in the world: 82 percent of a
vehicle can be recycled and an even more impressive 95 percent of
all vehicles coming off the road
are recycled. In short,
automotive recycling has silently led what is now con-
sidered a trendy movement – being green. The
increase in awareness and popularity of this industry
makes a career in automotive recycling a good choice.
“It is a mindset shift,” said Whelan. “If a child
comes home and says I want to be an auto recycler,
I’m sure a parent will gulp and say, “You want to
work in a junkyard?” But if they start to see it as an
educational choice for a student who may choose
auto mechanics or auto repair or auto sales and all
the sudden has the opportunity to look at a career in
auto recycling, they may be more enthusiastic.
“A skilled sales person with experience, on average in the industry,
with commission base can earn as much as $85,000 per year. That’s a
nice number, and I don’t think anyone knows that the potential is
there.”
Here are some of the jobs in the automotive recycling industry that
make good career choices:
Auto Recycler
Dismantler Specialist:
Disassembles inventory vehicles in sections
or individual parts for inventory and sales.
Material and Safety Compliance Specialist:
Responsible for
environment, insurance, and safety compliance.
Drivers:
Operators of recyclers’ fleet, delivery trucks, and heavy
equipment.
Inventory Specialist:
Responsible for inventory process, including
parts descriptions, code assignments, and parts grading. This person
also handles inventory maintenance, inventory audits, and bulk
inventory.
Owner/CEO/President:
Many current owners in the recycling
business went straight into the business out of high school or college
and worked in various positions before becoming the owner or CEO
of the yard. This person is responsible for overall decisions concerning
the direction of the business.
Office Staff
Accounting and Finance:
Various roles are
available, including bookkeeping, payroll, and
other jobs relating to the financial running of the business.
Business Administration:
Responsible for the running and adminis-
tration of the office and business.
Human Resources:
Deal with staffing and personnel issues and
management.
Information Technology:
Responsible for computers and
Internet/Web site Management, which handle plant management,
management systems, customer service management, personnel
management, parts supply, parts pricing, and marketing.
Production Associate:
Responsible for warehouse and vehicle
holding areas as well as maintaining rack inventory, core inventory,
vehicle storage, and end-of-life vehicles.
Production Associate Assistant:
Pull individual part orders and
prepare cores and end-of-life vehicles for market.
Sales Associates:
Responsible for auto part sales to recyclers,
collision repairers, mechanical repairers, and retail and Internet cus-
tomers. Also handles all sales transactions and extended warranties.
Inventory Purchase Specialist:
Buyer of vehicle and parts inventory.
Shipping Specialist:
Responsible for delivery of automotive parts.
If you would like to learn more about any of these great career
positions or more about certification through ARAU, please contact
Ginny Whelan at ginnyaraeducation@comcast.net and visit the
ARAU Web site at www.arauniversity.com.
G
R
E
E
N
REPORT
Dismantlers from
AAA Auto Salvage
in Rosemont,
Minnesota, and
Standard Auto
Wreckers in Ontario,
Canada (inset).
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008 10/10/08 10:04 AM Page 22
S P E C I A L G R E E N R E P O R T
" A U T O M O T I V E R E C Y C L I N G
2 3
The Consumer and the Industry Future
The Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) is
fighting for the consumer through various legisla-
tive measures that aim to protect the consumer in
the future and save them money too. For example,
did you know that the ARA has been lobbying
Congress to pass legislation that will stop cars that
have been totaled from being shipped out of the
country and re-sold under a different vehicle iden-
tification number?
This is important to the consumer because it aims
to keep unsafe vehicles from re-entering the roads
and possibly endangering lives.
Anthony Livingston, Director of ARA’s Govern-
ment Affairs, says that what ARA is doing today
directly influences the future of automotive recy-
cling.
“The future of the automotive recycling industry
from a consumer’s perspective will depend heavily
on Congress’ actions and reactions toward con-
sumer, industry, and environmental implications,”
said Livingston. “There are positive and negative
factors that will have a direct impact on consumer
spending, awareness, and compliance factors.”
Here are some of the issues that ARA is pursuing
on behalf of the industry and the consumer:
Total Loss Disclosure
The Total Loss Disclosure legislation requires
public disclosure of the Vehicle Identification
Numbers from vehicles determined to have suf-
fered damage resulting in significant fair market
value loss. All total loss vehicles and history will be
reported, posted, and made available to a con-
sumer before a purchase is made.
The Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair
Modern cars and light trucks contain advanced
technology that monitors or controls virtually every
function of the vehicle. Car owners and indepen-
dent shops need full access to the information, parts
and tools necessary to accurately diagnose, and
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008 10/10/08 10:04 AM Page 23
2 4
A U T O M O T I V E R E C Y C L I N G
" S P E C I A L G R E E N R E P O R T
repair or re-program these systems. Vehicle manu-
facturers are making access to such vital information
increasingly difficult to obtain for the independent
aftermarket and its customers. Without access to crit-
ical information, parts, and tools, motorists are
forced to patronize new car dealerships, which may
not be convenient or easily accessible to a car owner.
European Directive
A multinational partnership of 27 European
nations created a law to dispose of end-of-life vehi-
cles. The goals are to reduce material deposits in
landfills, maximize recyclable material, and provide
an easy way for consumers to dispose of vehicles.
The United States is observing this disposal process
with the possibility of modeling the European
Directive if proven to be positive for consumers,
recyclers, and the environment.
Unlicensed Dismantlers
Unlicensed dismantlers are picking up vehicles
and delivering them to scrap processors without
adhering to established industry standards.
National Motor Vehicle Title Information System
The National Motor Vehicle Title Information
System (NMVTIS) is a system that allows an elec-
tronic means to verify and exchange titling, brand,
and theft data among all states’ motor vehicle
administrators, law enforcement officials (including
Mexico and Canada), prospective purchasers, and
insurance carriers. NMVTIS also allows state titling
agencies to verify the validity of ownership docu-
ments before they issue new titles. NMVTIS also
checks to see if the vehicle is reported stolen, and
if so, the states don’t issue the new titles. Brands are
not lost when the vehicle travels from state to state
because NMVTIS keeps a history of all brands ever
applied by any state to the vehicle.
Consumers be aware
Consumers must be concerned with all these
issues at hand. They impact every person, whether
in issues of the economy, safety, crime, or the envi-
ronment.
For more information on automotive recycling
and its positive benefits, contact ARA at (888) 385-
1001, or visit www.a-r-a.org.
N
Michelle Keadle-Taylor is a freelance writer based in Northern Virginia.
The Automotive Recyclers Association Fast Facts
S
ince 1943, the Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) is an interna-
tional trade association that has represented an industry dedicated to
the efficient removal and reuse of automotive parts and the safe dis-
posal of inoperable motor vehicles.
ARA services approximately 1,000 member companies through direct
membership and over 2,000 other companies through our affiliated chapters
as well as suppliers of equipment and services to this industry. ARA is the only
trade association serving industry in 12 countries internationally.
ARA aims to further the automotive recycling industry through various ser-
vices and programs to increase public awareness of the industry’s role in con-
serving the future through automotive recycling and to foster awareness of
the industry’s value as a high quality, low cost alternative for the automotive
consumer. ARA encourages aggressive environmental management programs
to assist member facilities in maintaining proper management techniques for
fluid and solid waste materials generated from the disposal of motor vehicles.
G
R
E
E
N
REPORT
• Quality recycled parts at affordable prices.
• Progressive auto recyclers (those at the industry’s highest level)
operate under a common standard created by the ARA to monitor
and ensure best environmental practices. A list of CAR certified
businesses is at www.a-r-a.org/AF_memberdirectory.asp, select
“CAR Program Participant” for a list.
• Recycling cars and alternative fuels of the future will mean using
less energy and precious natural resources to make new parts.
• Reduce costs.
• Convenient use of the Internet to purchase top-quality recycled
auto parts.
• Recycling facilities offer a more diversified inventory, such as refin-
ished wheels, remanufactured drivetrain components, and aftermar-
ket parts.
• Auto recyclers are the only group that is well-equipped for properly
processing end-of-the-life vehicles, the extraction of Freon, and the
removal of mercury switches that is a requirement for progressive
auto recyclers, which protects individuals and the environment.
What can you make from recycled cars?
Below are just a few examples of what becomes of various car parts
when they are recycled at the end of their life.
Windshields and Auto Glass:
Asphalt filler; Spun into fiberglass;
Glass beads; Reflective additive; Architectural aggregate; Ground for
abrasives; Backing to carpet; And, a line of products, including wine
glasses and glass lamps, made specifically from recycled windshields.
Oil Filters (Steel):
Recycling all the filters sold
annually in the United States would result in the
recovery of about 160,000 tons of steel or
enough steel to make 16 new stadiums the size
of Atlanta’s Olympic Stadium. Products include
new steel products, such as cans; Household
appliances including refrigerators, washers and
dryers; Construction materials; Flat rolled steel
sheets; Concrete reinforcement; Structural
beams; New cars and car parts, even new oil filters.
Information above from http://earth911.org/automotive/what-happens-next-to-miscellaneous-car-parts/.
Consumer Benefits of Auto Recycling
From Old Car to New Refrigerator?
iS
to
ck
ph
ot
o.
co
m
/D
m
itr
y
Pi
st
ro
v
FOR COPIES OF THIS SPECIAL REPORT, CONTACT THE AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLERS ASSOCIATION AT (703) 385-1001. ©2008 AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLERS ASSOCIATION
GREENREPORT:AR_GREEN REPORT 2008 10/10/08 10:04 AM Page 24