Personally, my favorite method of old car disposal is what I like to call the family automotive history display.
I discovered this inadvertent artistic endeavor in the days when I was afraid to fly, and was therefore forced to take the train to LA on a monthly basis to take part in car launches. While indulging in train travel's primary
charm -- staring out the window at the passing scene during a rotating series of naps -- I noticed that many rural American families whose backyards border the tracks like to keep their old vehicles on the property, perhaps for reference purposes.
The first car the family owned while living in that property is stored farthest away from the house, which means it was next to the tracks. The second car to be replaced would sit next to the first one, and the third would sit next to second, and so on and so on, each one getting ever nearer the house. Sometimes there'd be a half-dozen rusting shells or more on display, giving car freaks a rough guide to the family's tastes and even its fortunes and foibles, the remains of a Caddy convertible preening between a pair of Chevrolets suggesting a short economic boom, or a flash of self-indulgence.
While the artistic side of me appreciates the appeal of these four-wheeled sculpture gardens, the sensible, environment-respecting part of my personality understands that they may not be the smartest way to
dispose of old cars. They make look harmless or even poignant sitting up on blocks, but old cars are in truth slowly but surely creating even more pollution for our poor old planet to cope with.
Which is why you should take fairly immediate action if you have a car moldering away in a backyard or a field somewhere, using environmentally-sensitive methods of disposal or recycling.
If this strikes you as nothing more than green state propaganda, consider that getting rid of old cars is a big, important deal in Europe. In the European Union (EU), they tend to live closer together than we do in North America, and are therefore less willing to allow their limited space to be filled with old cars.
In 2000, the EU created rigorous regulations about the mandatory disposal of old cars and put the onus of responsibility for this on the companies that made them in the first place, rather than the consumers who own them when they've reached the end of their useful life. Starting in 2007, then, car companies will have to take back their vehicles when
consumers are done with them (regardless of their age) and pay for their careful dismantling and shredding, all with an eye to recycling 85 percent of their weight to begin, but going up to 95 percent in 2015.
The EU's "End of Life" regulations cover about 160 million vehicles, which is roughly 10 times the number of new cars sold new there every year.
Not surprisingly, the car companies doing business in Europe were not excited about this legislation at first. At first they said it couldn't be done, or at least not without great cost, and there were claims that it was more unfair for some firms than others. But as the start date approaches all of the companies are pretty much ready to start taking back their products and aren't so worried about the cost, thanks mostly to an increase in the demand (and therefore the price) for the steel that is the biggest by-product (about two-thirds by weight) of the automotive recycling process.
Essentially, the process starts with the careful removal of the fluids and then goes on to the collection of the non-steel bits, which are separated for recycling or scrapped. That leaves the metal, which is pressed into a sizeable rectangle so it can be re-fashioned into another car or a refrigerator or whatever else manufacturers can think of.
As much as I enjoyed seeing those family car collections in the backyards of New Mexico and Arizona, what the Europeans are doing probably makes more sense for Canada.
I discovered this inadvertent artistic endeavor in the days when I was afraid to fly, and was therefore forced to take the train to LA on a monthly basis to take part in car launches. While indulging in train travel's primary
 |
The first car the family owned while living in that property is stored farthest away from the house, which means it was next to the tracks. The second car to be replaced would sit next to the first one, and the third would sit next to second, and so on and so on, each one getting ever nearer the house. Sometimes there'd be a half-dozen rusting shells or more on display, giving car freaks a rough guide to the family's tastes and even its fortunes and foibles, the remains of a Caddy convertible preening between a pair of Chevrolets suggesting a short economic boom, or a flash of self-indulgence.
While the artistic side of me appreciates the appeal of these four-wheeled sculpture gardens, the sensible, environment-respecting part of my personality understands that they may not be the smartest way to
 |
Which is why you should take fairly immediate action if you have a car moldering away in a backyard or a field somewhere, using environmentally-sensitive methods of disposal or recycling.
If this strikes you as nothing more than green state propaganda, consider that getting rid of old cars is a big, important deal in Europe. In the European Union (EU), they tend to live closer together than we do in North America, and are therefore less willing to allow their limited space to be filled with old cars.
In 2000, the EU created rigorous regulations about the mandatory disposal of old cars and put the onus of responsibility for this on the companies that made them in the first place, rather than the consumers who own them when they've reached the end of their useful life. Starting in 2007, then, car companies will have to take back their vehicles when
 |
The EU's "End of Life" regulations cover about 160 million vehicles, which is roughly 10 times the number of new cars sold new there every year.
Not surprisingly, the car companies doing business in Europe were not excited about this legislation at first. At first they said it couldn't be done, or at least not without great cost, and there were claims that it was more unfair for some firms than others. But as the start date approaches all of the companies are pretty much ready to start taking back their products and aren't so worried about the cost, thanks mostly to an increase in the demand (and therefore the price) for the steel that is the biggest by-product (about two-thirds by weight) of the automotive recycling process.
Essentially, the process starts with the careful removal of the fluids and then goes on to the collection of the non-steel bits, which are separated for recycling or scrapped. That leaves the metal, which is pressed into a sizeable rectangle so it can be re-fashioned into another car or a refrigerator or whatever else manufacturers can think of.
As much as I enjoyed seeing those family car collections in the backyards of New Mexico and Arizona, what the Europeans are doing probably makes more sense for Canada.