Auto Recycling Facts and Statistics - Junk Car Medics

Automobile Salvage & Recycling
Facts and Statistics
[THE COMPLETE LIST]

THE INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE
WWW.JUNKCARMEDICS.COM
Europe, US, and Japan are the
largest ferrous scrap exporters
and largest auto recyclers in the
world.
33% SCRAP EXPORTS
70% TOTAL AUTO RECYCLING
Market Shares

25B DOLLARS
are generated by the industry per year
16this the 16th largest
industry in the
United States
AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLING

Automotive recycling businesses
employ over 140,000 people...
...at more than 9,000 locations
around the country.

Automotive recyclers are small businesses.
86%of auto recyclers employ 10 or fewer people

4of auto recyclers in the U.S.
MEDIAN NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

auto recycling businesses.
Ownersaretheonlyemployeesat
1 OUT OF 5

8Mgallons of gasoline
and diesel fuel
24Mgallons of motor oil
8Mgallons of engine
coolant
5Mgallons of
windshield washer
fluid
96%of all lead-acid
batteries
Each year the industry collects and reuses or
recycles an estimated:

RECYCLING RATES OF CARS
N U M B E R O F C A R S T H A T R E A C H T H E E N D O F T H E I R
U S E F U L L I V E S E A C H Y E A R A R O U N D T H E W O R L D
2 7 M I L L I O N

The automobile is the most
recycled consumer product
in the world today.
In the US, it comes second
only to lead-acid batteries.

Number of cars recycled
annually in Europe
8M Number of cars recycled
annually in the U.S.
12M

annually in Europe
26 AUTOMOBILES ARE RECYCLED
EVERY MINUTE NATIONWIDE
- American Iron and Steel Institute

annually in Europe
95%OF VEHICLES RETIRED FROM USE
ARE PROCESSED FOR RECYCLING
EACH YEAR IN THE U.S.
Paper72%
Steel Cans67%
Aluminum Cans50%
Glass33%
...more than the recycling rates for:
* According to 2010 data

HOW MUCH OF A VEHICLE IS RECYCLED?
annually in Europe
Around the world
of heterogeneous material is recycled from old vehicles
OVER 25 MILLION TONS

annually in Europeis recycled, reused or used for energy recovery...
85%of a vehicle's material content
Approximately
with metal being the largest
target material for
recovery.

of vehicles in North America
are composed of post-
consumer recycled material
by weight
20%

FERROUS METAL/STEEL
of recycled steel is derived from
junk vehicles.
14M tons
Every year

FERROUS METAL/STEEL
RECYCLING AUTOS PROVIDE ENOUGH
STEEL TO PRODUCE
13 MILLION NEW AUTOMOBILES
WHILE GENERATING JOBS FOR
46,000 PEOPLE.

FERROUS METAL/STEEL
the average recycling rate for steel
and iron in cars
close to 100%

FERROUS METAL/STEEL
60% steel and iron. 25% recycled
content.
By weight, the typical
passenger car consists
of about
The steel used to make the
shell of your car, including
the doors, hood, trunk, and
quarter panels contains a
minimum of
Once all fluids have been
drained and reusable parts
removed from an
automobile, scrap
processors shred it and sell
the valuable ferrous
material to steel mills.

FERROUS METAL/STEEL
75%
ENERGY USE
90%
RAW MATERIAL USAGE
86%
AIR POLLUTION
40%
WATER USE
76%
WATER POLLUTION
97%
MINING WASTES
105%
CONSUMER WASTES
*percentage of reductions
BENEFITS OF
USING SCRAP
STEEL VS.
IRON ORE

FERROUS METAL/STEEL
The collection of recycled steel through
recycled services annually saves
the equivalent energy to
power about
18 million households
for a year.

FERROUS METAL/STEEL
2500
POUNDS OF
ORE
120
POUNDS OF
LIMESTONE
1400
POUNDS OF
COAL
R E C Y C L I N G A S I N G L E T O N O F S T E E L C O N S E R V E S

FERROUS METAL/STEEL
40% OF ALL RECYCLED STEEL
A U T O M O T I V E R E C Y C L E R S P R O V I D E N E A R L Y
( T H E M O S T R E C Y C L E D M E T A L ) I N A M E R I C A .

FERROUS METAL/STEEL
YEAR 2000
Enough steel from old cars was
recycled to produce 48 million steel
utility poles, one third of the utility
poles in the U.S.

FERROUS METAL/STEEL
AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLING
PROVIDES AROUND 40% OF
FERROUS METAL FOR THE
SCRAP PROCESSING
INDUSTRY.
A C R O S S N O R T H A M E R I C A

FERROUS METAL/STEEL
37%
of all ferrous metal is supplied
to blast furnaces and smelters
across the U.S. by the
automotive recycling industry

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS
85M BARRELS OF OIL
T H E R E C Y C L I N G O F E N D - O F - L I F E V E H I C L E S
S A V E S A N E S T I M A T E D
T H A T W O U L D H A V E B E E N U S E D I N T H E
M A N U F A C T U R I N G O F N E W O R R E P L A C E M E N T
P A R T S , L E A D I N G T O S I G N I F I C A N T R E D U C T I O N S
I N A I R A N D W A T E R P O L L U T I O N .

End of Life Vehicle Solutions Corporation,
established by the auto industry, works with
over 9,000 recyclers and has collected
approximately 4 million switches to date,
keeping 9,000 lbs of mercury out of the
environment.

CO2 is known to contribute to global warming as a GHG by
intensifying the amount of heat retained by the atmosphere. Given
the approximately 12.6 million vehicles recycled each year by the
automotive recycling industry, GHG emissions are reduced by over
30 million metric tons per year.
By using recycled metals, CO2 emissions are
reduced in the manufacturing process.

Recycling four tires
reduces CO2 by about
323 pounds
WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO 18 GALLONS
OF GASOLINE.

FINANCIAL BENEFITS
20-80% LESS
Automotive recyclers supply retail and wholesale customers
with quality auto parts that cost
THAN COMPARABLE NEW AUTO PARTS.

ALUMINUM
Approximately
90% of aluminum
of a vehicle is
recovered and
recycled.
The aluminum
recovered from an
old vehicle
represents less than
10% of the vehicle
by weight.
However, it
accounts for
nearly 50% of
the vehicle’s
scrap value.

MOTOR OIL/FLUIDS
Used oil from one oil change can contaminate one
million gallons of fresh water...
USED OILis of utmost importance.
Proper management of
...a year's supply for 50 people.

MOTOR OIL/FLUIDS
EVERY
YEAR
the amount of hazardous fluids and
oils reclaimed safely by auto recyclers
is equal to
8 EXXON VALDEZ DISASTERS!

CAR BATTERIES
98-99%
Approximately
of car batteries can
be recycled.

CAR TIRES
C A R T I R E R E C Y C L I N G I S
V I A B L E .
The material can be used to produce sandals, roadways, and more.

CAR TIRES
ONE BILLION TIRES
reach the end of their useful lives each year.

CAR TIRES
One passenger tire per person
is discarded each year
in the developed
world.

CAR TIRES
end-of-life tires are currently
in landfills and stockpiles
worldwide.
FOUR BILLION
An estimated

CAR TIRES
the recovery rate of
end-of-life tires for
Europe, the U.S., and
Japan.

CAR TIRES
U.S. SCRAP RUBBER
MANUFACTURERS RECYCLE
ROUGHLY 110 MILLION TIRES
ANNUALLY
This is equivalent to one tire for every three people in the U.S.

ASR
Every year,
around 5 million
tons of ASR is
disposed off in
landfills.
AUTO SHREDDER RESIDUE (ASR)
About 20% of a vehicle
can’t be recycled and is
termed as "ASR," which
includes ferrous and
non ferrous metal
pieces, dirt, glass,
fabric, paper, wood,
rubber and plastic.

ASR
75%
95%
25%
of a car is recycled in
Europe
of the cars in Europe,
then is auto shredder
residue (ASR)
of each car, by weight,
will soon be recycled by
European facilities
according to an estimate

ASR
AN ESTIMATED 5 MILLION TONS OF ASR ARE
DIVERTED TO LANDFILLS EACH YEAR.

AUTOMOTIVE PLASTICS REPRESENTS ABOUT 0.5
PERCENT BY WEIGHT OF A TYPICAL LANDFILL.

SOURCES
Automotive Recyclers Association
Kentucky Auto & Truck Recyclers Association
Steel Mint Group
Recycling Today
World Auto Steel
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc.
Auto Alliance
Steel Recycling Institute
Plastics Industry Association
Environmental Protection Agency
World Business Council for Sustainable
Development
U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association
The Balance
American Iron and Steel Institute
Norstar Steel Recyclers

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