What happens to cars that have been scrapped?
Your old car is destined for the scrapyard. But you needn’t worry about its last journey - it’s not sent to a landfill, but to an Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF).
Here, it will be stripped down and crushed (by hand or mechanically) into small pieces before undergoing two main processes: melting the car down in a furnace and shredding it into tiny parts.
Scrap cars are taken to an ATF who have the skill set to dismantle and recycle your vehicle properly. There are some instances where your vehicle will be crushed, this is done when a car is damaged beyond repair or the number of parts on the car is too low to make full price for them.
Each vehicle is checked to make sure it's free from hazardous materials, such as asbestos, which happens to be illegal for use in roadmaking. It’s then taken apart onsite using specially designed machinery, with other machinery used for crushing and shredding the rest of the metalwork.
The Process
To be dismantled in our state-of-the-art car recycling facility, your old car is first delivered to our reception centre, where it is unloaded and prepared for processing. All fuel and oil from the engine is drained to prevent leakage into the atmosphere when the vehicle is being crushed.
Any asbestos components are also removed to comply with UK law. Your tyres will then be removed by hand (no mechanical equipment is used in any part of the process), the number plates and V5 document are taken off the vehicle and it is loaded onto a tow trolley for transportation to our car crusher.
The glass windows and lights will be removed from your car as they too are considered hazardous.
The engine, wheels, fog lights, and seats are taken out and sold to garages in need of spare parts. The radiator is then drained of coolant before it is removed, as this contains ethylene glycol which is corrosive when mixed with water.
With all the parts removed from your car, it will then be crushed, broken into small pieces to be used in other products.
Recycled steel, aluminium and other metals are extracted from the engine to form a new product.
Certificate of Destruction and informing the DVLA
Once you’ve sold your car, it must legally be removed from the road. Your V5 logbook has a notice inside the yellow section which confirms to the DVLA that the car’s been scrapped. This means you’re no longer its keeper and no longer liable for any parking notices or fines. If you don’t have a V5 Logbook, you can inform the DVLA electronically by filling out this form.
Once you’ve committed your vehicle to the scrapyard, every scrap yard should be able to provide you with a Certificate of Destruction. This confirms that your car has been dismantled and recycled by an ATF. The ATF must, within seven days of scrapping your vehicle, send you an official Certificate of Destruction via registered post and keep a copy on its records.
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