Automobile Recycling

317-941-5865

 

We are an Automotive Recycling company located within Indianapolis, IN. Our Vehicle recycling process  consists of dismantling of vehicles for spare parts. At the end of their useful life, vehicles have value as a source of spare parts and this has created a vehicle dismantling industry. The industry has various names for its business outlets including wrecking yard, auto dismantling yard, car spare parts supplier, and recently, auto or vehicle recycling. Vehicle recycling has always occurred to some degree but in recent years manufacturers have become involved in the process. A car crusher is often used to reduce the size of the scrapped vehicle for transportation to a steel mill.

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Approximately 12-15 million vehicles reach the end of their use each year in just the United States alone. These automobiles, although out of commission, can still have a purpose by giving back the metal and other recyclable materials that are contained in them. The vehicles are shredded and the metal content is recovered for recycling, while in many areas, the rest is further sorted by machine for recycling of additional materials such as glass and plastics. The remainder, known as automotive shredder residue, is put into a landfill. The shredder residue of the vehicles that is not recovered for metal contains many other recyclable materials including 30% of it as polymers, and 5-10% of it as residual metals. Modern vehicle recycling attempts to be as cost-effective as possible in recycling those residual materials.

 

Currently, 75% of the materials can be recycled, with the remaining 25% ending up in landfill. As the most recycled consumer product, end-of-life vehicles provide the steel industry with more than 14 million tons of steel.

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The process of recycling a vehicle is extremely complicated as there are many parts to be recycled and many hazardous materials to remove. Briefly, the process begins with incoming vehicles being inventoried for parts. The wheels and tires, battery and catalytic converter are removed. Fluids, such as engine coolant, oil, transmission fluid, air conditioning refrigerant, and gasoline, are drained and removed. Certain high value parts such as electronic modules, alternators, starter motors, infotainment systems - even complete engines or transmissions - may be removed if they are still serviceable and can be profitably sold on; either in "as-is" used condition or to a remanufacturer for restoration. This process of removing higher value parts from the lower value vehicle body shell has traditionally been done by hand. A labour intensive process, that has meant it is uneconomical to remove many of the parts.

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A technique that is on the rise is the mechanical removal of these higher value parts via machine based vehicle recycling systems (VRS). An excavator or materials handler equipped with a special attachment allows these materials to be removed quickly and efficiently. Increasing the amount of material that is recycled and increasing the value the vehicle dismantler receives from an end-of-life vehicle (ELV). Other hazardous materials such as mercury, and sodium azide (the propellant used in air bags) may also be removed.

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After all of the parts and products inside are removed, the remaining shell of the vehicle is sometimes subject to further processing, which includes removal of the air conditioner evaporator and heater core, and wiring harnesses. The remaining shell is then crushed flat, or cubed, to facilitate economical transportation in bulk to an industrial shredder or hammer mill, where the vehicles are further reduced to fist-sized chunks of metal. Glass, plastic and rubber are removed from the mix, and the metal is sold by multiple tons to steel mills for recycling.

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