There’s no denying that cars are indeed essential in our lives because of all the facilities they offer. But, they also happen to create so much damage to the natural environment, especially if the car is several years old. It should be noted that even though almost 70 percent of any old car can be easily recycled, the rest 30 percent is declared as ‘flock’ and is then sent to the nearest landfill.
A ‘flock’ is defined as a car component that is non-metallic and has been manufactured from materials like foam, plastic, fabric, glass and the likes. Even though research is currently going on for reducing the amount of landfill, as a responsible car owner, you still need to know the harmful effects regarding the components of an old car.
The Old Car Components Which Can Damage The Environment
1. The Tyres
Even though the tyres of an old car don’t directly affect the environment, the number of tires that are dumped every year into landfills is increasing which causes them to stockpile one after the other – which can lead to a fire hazard. Tyres can also become a deadly breeding ground for mosquitoes as well, thereby spreading more diseases in the process. Tyres are indeed a much more valuable resource than letting them rot inside a landfill. Tyres can be recycled in numerous ways and can be put to good use with the help of unwanted cars for cash services.
Such recycled tyres can be used to create floor mats, furniture, children’s wings and so on. They are also re-purposed into carrying bags, shoes, wallets and other types of accessories.
2. The Wasted Engine Oil
One of the major reasons why waste oil should be immediately removed from an old car before recycling is because the oil can be highly polluting in nature. This wasted engine oil can contain numerous contaminants such as chromium, arsenic, lead, dioxins and the likes, which are hazardous to humans, animals, plants and nearby aquatic ecosystems. Moreover, if the oil seeps through the soil to get to the groundwater, then it can even pollute the underground water leading to the outbreak of various diseases.
It has been researched and discovered that even one liter of waste engine oil can easily pollute almost one million liters of pure water that is considered safe for drinking.
3. The Car Battery
It should be noted that each car battery contains mainly about two or three liters of sulphuric acid combined with lead compounds as well. Therefore, it’s extremely essential to dispose of off the car batteries in the most important manner as possible so that environmental pollution can be easily minimised and these poisonous substances can be treated most adequately.
The good news that can be gathered from such an issue is that one can easily reuse car batteries without any such problems. This alone makes car batteries one of the most recycled products in the whole world as they are used to make fertilizers, plant pots and even newly constructed car batteries too.
Furthermore, when the battery of an old car is recycled, it also reduces the overall dependence on mining for the obtainment of new materials for manufacturing purposes. It’s been predicted that in the future, such recycled batteries can easily become the power or energy packs for wind turbines and even solar panels. These energy packs are used to store the naturally generated renewable energy from such sources.
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