Once your car has gone to the scrapyard, do you know what happens to it? We’re going to shed some light on the process of breaking down an old car when it’s scrapped.
Get Your Car To The Scrapyard
If your old vehicle isn’t able to move anymore, you need to arrange for your scrap car to be collected. This is usually a very simple process, and companies like Midlands Auto Breakers can arrange for free collections. It’s much easier to move cars when they still have all their wheels. If your vehicle is missing any, it may be more difficult to move, which could result in a small fee. If you’re unsure, it’s always best to phone ahead, so the car scrapping company can bring any necessary equipment to move the vehicle.
Removal Of Hazardous Materials
The first step of preparing a car to be scrapped is removing any hazardous materials. This process is known as depollution. The things that are removed include the battery, any fluids, the catalytic converter and even the tyres. Tyres are surprisingly one of the most dangerous parts of the vehicle, as they’re highly flammable.
At this stage, the windows and windscreens will probably also be removed and sent for recycling, as well as any large plastic parts like bumpers.
Crushing The Metal
This is the fun part! Most people associate car scrapping with this part of the process. The depolluted vehicle is picked up with a large piece of machinery and placed into the crusher. The crusher squishes the metal until it’s a tight cube. The vehicle will be completely unrecognisable at this stage!
Processing The Metal Cube
Once the crusher has made the car into a metal cube, the cube needs to be processed into smaller pieces. The cube is put into another piece of machinery that slices it up into chunks that are about the size of your palm. This makes it easier to screen the pieces and remove any plastics. A large industrial magnet then separates the remaining chunks into ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
Processing The Non-Ferrous Metals
Non-ferrous metals are more valuable than ferrous metals. Therefore, these get sent to another stage of screening. The non-ferrous metals are dunked into a molten liquid. The purpose of this is to separate the metals. Different metals will float at different levels, so it’s a simple way of identifying what the scrapped car contained.
Recycling
Finally, the remaining pieces are sent to be recycled. This means that your scrapped car will be used to make new things, rather than taking up space on a landfill site.
Choose Midlands Auto Breakers' Scrapyard
If you need to scrap your car, give us a call. We offer great prices for scrap vehicles, including free collection.
