Why should I recycle my old car?

There are currently 18 million light vehicles registered for use on Canadian roads. The average lifespan of a vehicle in the 1960s was just less than 162,000 km. Today this is approaching 225,000 km (Automotive Industries Association of Canada, 2005). This means that Canadians can and often do keep their old clunkers on the road for years longer than they used to.

This is a problem because these older vehicles are much more polluting than the new vehicles produced today. Older vehicles are typically less fuel-efficient than new vehicles of a similar size and lack the latest vehicle technology for cutting air pollution and reducing smog-forming emissions.

Cars contribute to air pollution in two key ways:

1) Fuel efficiency and climate change

One of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions is the transportation sector. Burning gasoline, diesel and oil produces carbon dioxide‚ a principal greenhouse gas‚ making the transportation sector the largest source of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in Canada.

Automakers have developed the technology (catalytic converters) to reduce emissions which contribute to air pollution and smog such as hydrocarbons‚ carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides from vehicle exhausts. But CO₂ is an unavoidable by-product of burning gasoline or diesel fuel. The average car produces about 2.4 kilograms of CO₂ for every litre of gasoline used‚ or three to four times its own weight in CO₂ every year. In addition, as vehicles age, their fuel efficiency degrades over time.

2) Tail pipe emissions and smog
Smog is a big problem in Canada and one which affects the health of all Canadians. In fact, in a recent report, the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) estimated that smog- related premature mortality accounts for approximately 5,800 deaths annually in Ontario. Across Canada, cars, trucks and buses are major sources of smog pollution, especially in densely populated urban areas. Smog-forming pollutants include nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and fine particulate matter. A 14 year old vehicle produces 19 times more smog-forming emissions than a 2004 or newer model.

Improvements in the design of vehicle exhaust systems have reduced pollution from individual vehicles significantly over the past 25 years. Environment Canada projects that smog causing emissions, specifically HCs and NOx, from the total auto sector are currently in decline as newer, cleaner vehicles replace older, higher emitting vehicles in the fleet.

The auto industry has introduced five successive generations of environmental equipment on new vehicles. Today’s motor vehicles reduce smog-causing emissions by as much as 99% from uncontrolled levels.

(Source: CVMA)

Total emissions however are expected to increase because of the growing number of vehicles on the road. This is where Car Heaven comes in. Car Heaven offers vehicle owners an easy, free and rewarding option to handle their old, higher polluting vehicle. Car Heaven ensures that your old clunker comes off the road, stops spewing pollutants, that the hazardous components are diverted from landfill, and that it is responsibly recycled. That’s why Car Heaven is so important – and that’s why you should send your car to Car Heaven.