Enlisting a junkyard for your auto parts is an ecologically sound decision for many different reasons. Supporting these businesses is about more than saving a few dollars on second hand auto parts, it’s also about curbing greenhouse gases, the continued erosion to our ice caps and exploitation of natural resources.
Iron ore mining is destructive to the environment. For starters, like most forms of mining, iron ore mining produces a lot of waste. The rock from which the iron is extracted is byproduct, as is the mine dust. This waste gets pushed aside as rubble. Moreover, the torn earth mining leaves in its wake leaves massive, gaping canyons that are so immense they can only fill in naturally over the course of thousands of years.
Aside from the destruction mining itself generates, there is a whole lot of heat that goes into producing iron ore. This is because the iron has to be extracted from the rock, requiring very high temperatures. Not only does this heat require an incredible amount of energy, it contributes atmosphere polluting carbon monoxide into the atmosphere.
Metal and iron already in circulation is paramount to protecting the environment. Curbing the iron mining process and recycling beat up old cars reintroduces otherwise wasted, valuable scrap into steel manufacturing for not only new cars, but other structures and items produced using steel. This includes anything from military equipment to steel I-beams for buildings to bridge material across America’s roadways.
Steel is so valuable for recycling because it can be recycled time and time again without losing strength. Metal from a 1956 Chevy that was melted down for use in a bridge on the Southside of Chicago can be melted down to a girder installed in a skyscraper going up in Buffalo, all without losing a bit of strength.
An incredible 75% of auto parts are fully recyclable, either as a functioning auto part or scrap metal. No other institution better facilitates this reuse than junkyards. Because without junkyards, junked cars rust away useless, not contributing to the cycle of reuse.
A very ecological business model, scrapyards sell items and parts which could be rotting away in landfills and facilitates their good use. Supporting them and purchasing recycled auto parts from them keeps them functional and contributing to the economy in a earth friendly way. Just because things are used doesn’t make them useless.
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