Here at X-Met Metals we collect, and pay, for all manner of scrap metal, including scrap vehicles, from locations across the North West Region, including Bolton, Frodsham, Manchester and Ormskirk. We also offer professional and legal scrap car recycling. But what are the processes involved in recycling a vehicle.
Government legislation for vehicle recycling
Currently, the government end of life vehicle (ELV) legislation states that the target amount of a cars weight that needs to be recycled is 95%. This actually means that cars hold the highest rates of recycling of any product that you can buy!
What are some of the most important steps in the vehicle recycling process?
To fully recycle your vehicle there are quite a few different processes to go through. The whole process is complex so these are just a few of the main steps:
- De-pollution process– the End of Life Vehicles Directive states that when vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tonnes are scrapped, they must be disposed of in an environmentally responsible way. This means that any hazardous waste materials like oil, coolant and other car fluids, as well as traditional batteries, need to be drained and disposed of accordingly. This is usually one of the first steps in the recycling process, to prevent contamination.
- Shredder- during the vehicle recycling process, the vehicle will be broken up into small pieces by a shredder and separated out according to the type of material it’s composed off. For some machines this can happen in just under 15 seconds! When the vehicle parts are small enough, these will fall through a grate onto conveyor belt to be separated.
- Gasification- the materials mentioned above used to go to landfill, but are now turned into gas by tall rotating boxes which heat them up and convert them into gas. This gas can then be used to generate steam for electricity, and two tonnes of waste can generate enough power to run the average house for a whole year.
For more information get in touch with the North West’s leading scrap metal merchants, X-Met Metals, today!