In this day and age, whenever your automobile “gives up the ghost”, you cannot just dump it by the roadside, nor do you want it rusting on your property. This means that we have to find a way of disposing of our depreciated vehicles.

The Car Crusher

This is a machine for reducing the volume of any type of vehicle to a smaller size that can easily be taken away and delivered to the scrap metal melting furnaces at a steel plant. A baling press is a very common type of car compactor found in many scrap yards; baling presses crush the car body from different directions to reshape it into a cube. Another type of compactor is known as the “pancake” type; like a baling press, hydraulic power supplies the crushing force; but, in the pancake type, the hydraulic force is only applied through a descending plate to flatten the vehicle.
The problem lies in getting these junk cars to the crusher. Often, the owner of the car may have to pay to transport the vehicle to the scrap yard; even if it can make it there under its own power, he might have to pay the yard to crush it for him. Other times, the scrap metal merchant may simply accept the vehicle and dispose of it for free. Neither way encourages people to be environmentally correct.

How to Help the Environment and Make Some Money

There are parts of all motor vehicles that cannot be reduced in size by crushing, such as the engine block and gearbox casing. There are other components that are not made of steel and cannot be recycled in the same furnace as the vehicle’s body shell; the windshield being but a single example. In addition, there are all the smaller solid metal components like starter motors, water pumps, clutch plates, etc., that will not lose much volume (if any) when crushed. However, if removed prior to crushing they may have some value individually.

Recycling Back To Original Use

Some scrap yards that specialize in disposal of derelict vehicles also run a good business in reselling used components. This makes for additional profit on top of the prices paid by the steel mills for baled metal scrap. A good condition windshield salvaged from a scrap vehicle can be fitted in a similar model auto of the same make and vintage. Even a worn gearbox can be reconditioned into “as new” condition and used to replace a worn out box in an otherwise serviceable vehicle. In fact, junk cars can be such a valuable source of good used parts that a dealer may pay you for yours and collect it from you for free.