Recycling isn’t just important to conserve resources, it’s also vital for Earth’s sustainability. And eco-friendly practices can go far beyond reusing water bottles or upcycling glass. For instance, did you know thousands of parts found in automobiles can be recycled?

Like other industries pursuing environmentally friendly practices, automobile recycling continues to grow.

7. Across the globe, millions of cars avoid a road trip to the landfill.
8. 27 million vehicles are recycled globally every year.[2]

A huge global effort is underway to repurpose automobiles as more people across borders commit to preserving the environment and minimizing their carbon footprints. This effort also creates hundreds of thousands of jobs, bolstering economies across the world.

Not surprisingly, there are many environmental benefits associated with vehicle recycling. Materials such as steel and tires are highly useful, versatile, and reusable.

This lessens the environmental impact caused by the original manufacturing. It also widely expands process options.

Recycling Steel

Steel is one of the most coveted items that come from junk cars and is the main recyclable material.[1]

Recycling steel is environmentally important. And recycled steel performs similarly to new steel, which is why its recycling rate is so great.[1]

13. Junk vehicles provide 14 million tons of recycled steel every year.[2]
14. On average, approximately 25% of each new car is made using recycled steel.[2]
15. Each year, the automotive recycling sector collects and melts down more than 18 million tons of steel.[1] This goes a long way toward environmental preservation.
16. North America is doing its part. In the U.S. and Canada, the auto recycling industry yields enough recycled steel to build 13 million new vehicles.[4]

Manufacturing from recycled steel is much more environmentally friendly than producing new steel because it cuts pollutants and emissions.

17. Recycled steel reduces air pollution by 86%.[1]
18. Recycled steel reduces water pollution by 76%.[1]

Recycling Tires

Similarly, each year, the rubber from tens of millions of tires is repurposed into a variety of different products. Common items such as these are often made from recycled tires:[1]

• Mulch
• Playground surfaces
• Running tracks

Recycling Oil

19. In all, 85 million barrels of oil are saved by recycling end-of-life vehicles, car parts, and car batteries.[3]
20. In each car that’s salvaged for parts, approximately 5-10 gallons of liquids can be salvaged. These include:[2]
    • Oil
    • Coolant
    • Windshield washer fluid

Here are a couple of other facts to consider:

21. Left standing in a junked engine, these liquids will eventually leak, be absorbed into the ground, and contribute to water pollution. Multiply that effect by the tens of millions of cars that can be recycled each year: That’s a lot of fluid pollutants!
22. Oil doesn’t wear out; it simply gets dirty and needs cleaning.
    • Millions of oil barrels are saved by cleaning oil, which boosts energy recovery by reducing the need for new fossil fuels.
    • The amount saved every year equates to eight Exxon Valdez oil spills.[6]

Recycling Glass

Automotive glass also is versatile enough to reuse and turn into such items as:

• Concrete blocks
• Glass bottles
• Countertops
• Worktops
• Insulation
• Jewelry[2]

One complication: Automobile glass is designed to prevent it from shattering in an accident. While this has saved lives, it also has made windshields difficult to repurpose. The glass is difficult to extract from the layers of plastic encasement that keep the windshield intact. However, new technology now makes recycling auto windshields possible.

23. In 2016, Safelite AutoGlass recycled 1.76 million windshields, totaling 6 million windshields since the program’s inception in 2012.[7]

Recycling automobiles conserves natural resources and reduces pollutants. Between this and the other tangible benefits, such as jobs and contributions to a thriving economy, recycling cars at the end of their useful lives is a positive move toward sustainability.