When you drive your dream car out of the garage forecourt, the last thing on your mind is its destruction at the hands of a car crusher. It is difficult to imagine that you will fall out of love with the object of your desire but sadly it is true. After bringing pleasure to a number of drivers over the years the paint work will become faded, seats saggy and the engine components sluggish. It is at this point that all of the useful parts of the car are stripped out and the car is sent to the scrap yard to be crushed into oblivion.
Crushing Car Facts
One million cars are crushed in Britain every year. Cars have to be legally scrapped by an Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF). The lead battery is removed during the first phase of the Depollution Process. The tyres are removed and sent to a tyre recycling centre. The petrol tank, catalytic convertor and liquids that are deemed hazardous are removed. Once the Depollution Process is complete the car is ready to be crushed. You can either sell your car for scrap or donate funds to to charity. The, Scrap Dealer Act 2013, states that is is illegal to receive cash payments for scrap. You must inform the DVLA and apply for a Certificate Of Destruction.
Source: cardealermagazine.co.uk
How A Car Crusher Works
This video clip shows a Challenger Group car crusher in action. Crushing or flattening a car saves on transportation costs. As you can see, from the clip, the car is put into a box like structure with a roof that lowers downwards. The crusher part is controlled by hydraulics which can produce a lot of strength with little effort. The smooth movement of the hydraulics almost camouflages the destruction happening in its grip. The power is created through the principle of force multiplication, which simply means that a smaller force is converted into a larger one using hydraulics.
What Happens Next?
The car crusher plays a very small but exciting role in the car recycling process. Car recycling is very lucrative and every little component has money making potential. Rubber tyres are used in playground surfacing and barriers in racing circuits. Glass is recycled and many of the parts that are still in working order are reused. The most profitable material is the steel used in the body of the car, recycled steel is much cheaper to produce and uses 75% less energy than mining the ore to produce new steel. Recycling is good for the environment as well as the economy.
Next time you are swinging on a tyre swing in a clearing just think that it may have come from a once beautiful car that has now been crushed.
If you would like to learn more about car crushers or discuss the different types of hydraulic systems available please contact us here and we will be happy to advise you.
