Vehicles
Environmental benefits: the quantity of used vehicles that are not resold equate to more than 2 million tonnes of material to be recovered or disposed of. 1.85 million cars are recycled every year in the UK and approximately 80 per cent of waste vehicle materials are recycled, with the remainder going to landfill. As car ownership increases it is important that the proportion of each end-of-life vehicle being recycled is maximised, so that the impact is reduced.
How to recycle: up to 80 per cent of a vehicle can be recycled – contact your local council for further advice or try European Metal Recycling for your nearest centre. There are hundreds of approved vehicle dismantlers, recyclers and salvage sites across the UK and recently a new piece of EU legislation has come into force, with the aim of improving the recycling process for old vehicles.
Useful links:
Waste online. End of life vehicles
Team Green Britain and London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Ltd (LOCOG) do not endorse any of the products, companies, organisations, opinions or websites that have been mentioned in this article. The content of this article has merely been provided as background to, or discussion on, various topical issues relating to the environment and it is not necessarily representative of the views of Team Green Britain and LOCOG. Further, any figures and calculations noted in this article are estimates (unless otherwise specified), and may vary in light of numerous factors and readers are advised to undertake their own research in relation to the facts and figures applicable to their particular circumstance.