A Car in Need of Recycling Auto Shredder Residue or ASR is a real thing! ASR is non-recyclable material from a vehicle and our world has about 5 Million tons of ASR each year dumped into landfills on God's green earth.
One fact states that we will all be better off if we had less ASR. The current good news from the U.S. Council of Automotive Research or USCAR, reports that we have just over 20% of ASR from each car. Today's automotive recyclers are able to recover approximately 80% of the combined total of material, by weight, from a car.
The good news continues:
- More than 25 million tons of materials from vehicles each year are recycled.
- People save a great deal of money buying rebuilt or used parts instead of new ones.
- Auto Recyclers provide over one-third of ferrous scrap to the U.S. scrap processing industry. This scrap iron and steel used instead of virgin ore reduces air and water pollution in the manufacturing process by over 50%*. *Source EPA
One fact states that we will all be better off if we had less ASR. The current good news from the U.S. Council of Automotive Research or USCAR, reports that we have just over 20% of ASR from each car. Today's automotive recyclers are able to recover approximately 80% of the combined total of material, by weight, from a car.
The good news continues:
- More than 25 million tons of materials from vehicles each year are recycled.
- People save a great deal of money buying rebuilt or used parts instead of new ones.
- Auto Recyclers provide over one-third of ferrous scrap to the U.S. scrap processing industry. This scrap iron and steel used instead of virgin ore reduces air and water pollution in the manufacturing process by over 50%*. *Source EPA
"Yet, we should not be satisfied with the above good news..."
Recycled Glass Back Splash However, we should not be satisfied with the above good news or ever stop asking questions. Case and point, almost 27 million cars in our world reach the end of their useful life every year and are in need of recycling. From all those vehicles we have the 5 million tons of ASR. Items that are listed as non-recyclable are below, but my question is why are they not recyclable?
ASR includes: plastics, glass, rubber, wood, paper, fabric, sand, dirt, ferrous and non ferrous metal pieces.
PLASTICS: I must ask why they are on the list, because most plastics, polymers, resins, and co-polymers can be recycled one way or another.
GLASS: Have you seen the many beautiful designs of recycled tempered glass for use as a kitchen back splash?
RUBBER: aka car tires and various trim, are now being recycle to replace mulch and wood chips. The rubber chips last dozens of years longer and are guaranteed to hold the color for eleven years. So around my flower beds and trees I am using recycled rubber instead of wood chips that decay away in a year while attracting certain unwanted insects. Please note that I am not using them near or around my vegetable garden or fruit trees! I do not want any of the carcinogens that may still be present in the Rubber getting into my food.
WOOD: Really? Many furniture companies practically use saw dust held together with glue, instead of solid wood.
FABRIC: I have a hand-made three foot high, two foot diameter basket with cover, from Kenya that is woven completely out of used cloths and fabrics.
SAND and DIRT: Sort it, clean it and put it back outside!
METAL: This just sounds like small pieces of scrap metal not worth the time to recycle because it doesn't make enough money. So find another way! How about belt buckles for pants?
We cannot just believe all good will be done automatically and in a just the right amount of time. Only make-believe superheroes do that. We must be the real superheroes and we get our power from knowledge. Never stop being educated and always ask the questions.
ASR includes: plastics, glass, rubber, wood, paper, fabric, sand, dirt, ferrous and non ferrous metal pieces.
PLASTICS: I must ask why they are on the list, because most plastics, polymers, resins, and co-polymers can be recycled one way or another.
GLASS: Have you seen the many beautiful designs of recycled tempered glass for use as a kitchen back splash?
RUBBER: aka car tires and various trim, are now being recycle to replace mulch and wood chips. The rubber chips last dozens of years longer and are guaranteed to hold the color for eleven years. So around my flower beds and trees I am using recycled rubber instead of wood chips that decay away in a year while attracting certain unwanted insects. Please note that I am not using them near or around my vegetable garden or fruit trees! I do not want any of the carcinogens that may still be present in the Rubber getting into my food.
WOOD: Really? Many furniture companies practically use saw dust held together with glue, instead of solid wood.
FABRIC: I have a hand-made three foot high, two foot diameter basket with cover, from Kenya that is woven completely out of used cloths and fabrics.
SAND and DIRT: Sort it, clean it and put it back outside!
METAL: This just sounds like small pieces of scrap metal not worth the time to recycle because it doesn't make enough money. So find another way! How about belt buckles for pants?
We cannot just believe all good will be done automatically and in a just the right amount of time. Only make-believe superheroes do that. We must be the real superheroes and we get our power from knowledge. Never stop being educated and always ask the questions.
Bill Lauto, GTG
Environmental Scientist at
GoingTrueGreen.com
Contribute your comments!
Environmental Scientist at
GoingTrueGreen.com
Contribute your comments!
