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Page 2 of 2 Scrapping and Recycling The quantity of used vehicles that are not resold equates to over 2 million tonnes to be recovered or disposed of. 1.85 million Cars are recycled every year in the UK
20.000 tonnes of oil removed from vehicles by motorists is handled improperly. If oil finds its way into sewers and water courses it can cause significant contamination- one litre of waste oil is sufficient to contaminate one million litres of water and oil poured onto the ground will affect soil fertility
When disposed of in landfill sites tyres in large volumes can cause instability by rising to the surface of the site affecting its long term settlement and therefore posing problems for future use and land reclamation. Rubber materials contain proportions of organic chemicals and little is known about the lasting effects of these chemicals.
Secondary restraint systems used in vehicles consist of airbags and seat belt pre-tensioners. Air bags became standard components in UK-produced vehicles in 1993. Some air bags are only activated as a result of certain types of collisions, so occasionally the bag is undetonated and in the absence of manufacturers' deployment instructions, a strict procedure should be followed in order to disarm the bag safely. Air bags do not contain high value materials, so reclamation is not a viable option. In addition, because of the high product specifications and specialist installation procedures required to fulfil their safety purpose, reuse is not currently an option either.
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