Green benefits, or the lack of them, are something we now consider before everything we do. Being conscious that we are environmental stewards has become an ever-present part of our societal consciousness. We take proactive steps to preserve and enhance the gift that is our planet. We do this because we accept that our efforts on behalf of the environment fulfill a crucial responsibility to the next generation.
So we recycle cans, bottles, and paper, leaving a smaller footprint in all we do. We are careful never to litter and try to purchase green products, too. Our green ethos extends to purchasing low-emission cars that use less fuel.
But what happens to your aging car when the time comes to purchase a replacement vehicle? What is the greenest way to handle this situation? Does selling an old car to a new owner represent green thinking? After all, you are keeping your old car on the road a little bit longer, albeit with a new owner. Surely that’s a good thing—making sure your car still gets some use?
Old Cars
Actually, that’s a very unsound idea, environmentally speaking. Old cars hail from a time in which emissions standards and fuel consumption were, well, behind the times. Rather than offering a green solution, keeping an old car on the road means enabling and perpetuating a conspicuous source of the grossest air pollution. Underscoring this issue are the results of one California study which estimated that cars of 13 or more years account for 25% of all driven miles while accounting for 75% of all car-related pollution.
So what’s a green-minded person to do? The answer: donate your car.
Green Benefits of Car Donation
Car donation represents the greenest possible solution for your old car. Donations of vehicles that no longer meet current standards are carefully recycled. The steel that is realized from the recycling process can be used for a myriad of new uses, including cans for canned goods, beams for building homes, shovels for gardening and agriculture, forceps for surgical procedures, paper clips for office use, even rollercoasters, just to name a few of the many possibilities. By donating your car, you help keep the roads clear of abandoned vehicles, too.
Some car recycling facts:
- Steel can be recycled any number of times, never losing its strength during the recycling process.
- The steel realized from the recycling of just 6 cars is enough to frame a 6,000 square foot home
- In the year 2000, 14 million cars were recycled, yielding an amount of steel sufficient to make 48 million utility poles, or one-third of all United States utility poles
- A total of 75% of car materials are recyclable.
- A full 65% of all steel produced in North America originates from scrap
For more about the green benefits of donating your car, you may want to take a look at our Earth Day Sustainability Resource. We made it in honor of Earth Day, but it’s worth reading any day. There you will find comprehensive information on four critical sustainability topics: clean air, clean water, waste, and green transportation. Each topic ends with steps you can take to live a more sustainable life. Much of that has to do with the cars you drive and may someday donate to us.
