Scrap A Car And Help The Environment

A memory that will stay with this writer for a lifetime is my grandfather’s farm in Iowa; out in the back forty there was an assortment of farm machinery and junk cars that had quit running over the years and were moved to their final resting place, where they stayed for years.

Behavior that was acceptable in the fifties is no longer socially acceptable today. Today we understand that we need to be stewards of the environment and that scrap cars, if not properly disposed of, can do serious harm to the environment.

Scrapyards were a fairly common thing of the past and they are making a comeback in America today, and it is the Green Revolution that has fueled this comeback. Businesses like Cash-n-Carry in Savannah are now paying cash for cars in their new division called Cars and Cores. The bottom line is if you scrap a car at a scrapyard there is no harm done to the environment; if you leave it in your yard over time a ton of harm will be done to the environment. Besides, scrapyards like Cash-n-Carry will pay cash for cars like that old ’69 Ford in your backyard, so seriously, why would you not scrap that car?

What harm is there in leaving an old car on your property? Well, before we talk about the environment, let’s just mention that a yard littered with scrap just looks ugly and your neighbors will make that fact known to you quickly in concern over their property values. But set that aside and think about the fluids in that vehicle. Oil, brake fluid, transmission fluid, battery fluid, and gas or diesel in the tank are all likely to drain at some point into the ground, thus affecting the groundwater and eventually seep into rivers and streams. Even a novice in the field of environmental science can see the negative effect that would have on nature AND your drinking water.

One other area of concern is old tires. As you may or may not know, rubber is not biodegradable. They will eventually cause a breakdown in the nutrients in the soil rendering it useless for supporting life. In later articles we will talk more about the dangers of discarded vehicles. For now, let’s follow a very simple adage: Abandoned cars are bad; recycled cars are good. I just wish my grandfather knew about it in his day.