Go Green, Scrap The Old Car
February 21st, 2011 by 
Scrap your car and fuel the future: how donating your end-of-life vehicle can help pave the way for greener alternatives and raise money for a good cause.
According to recent statistical reports undertaken by the Department of Energy & Climate Change, road transport accounts for around 25% of the UK’s carbon emissions. And, amongst the heaviest polluters of all are old, fuel-inefficient vehicles.
As Malcolm Gladwell once argued in The New Yorker, the fastest road to clean air is to target the worst polluters, aggressively.
At the same time, in recent years, membership of car clubs in the UK has seen a huge increase – rising from 64,679 in 2009 to 112,928 in 2010.
Though it’s probably still too early to hope for a dramatic reduction in our current car-reliance, one thing is for sure: there are other ways to make and use cars that will help us minimize our future dependency on oil.
Whether you opt to take the ultimate test and try living a car-free life, or invest in a more environmentally viable vehicle, if your vehicle is nearing the end of its working life, the best thing you can do is to scrap the car.
Over in the UK, Giveacar founder Tom Chance was inspired by several US initiatives that promote car donation. Recognizing a need to encourage people to dispose of their end-of-life vehicles, and to do so in an environmentally responsible manner, he also realized that there was a potential to diversify revenue streams for charities by directing the proceeds from scrapping to good causes on the vehicle owner’s behalf. It’s a cost-free service for the customer that allows them to give something back in a hassle-free way.
Every year, over 2 million vehicles come off the roads in Britain yet approximately 50% of these are not disposed of with due environmental consideration. Instead, many are abandoned, left to seep toxins and heavy metals into the soil, while oils and fluids are poured down the drains. Many too are illegally brought back onto the roads (after being supposedly junked for a quick cash fee), causing significant air pollution, not to mention safety, concerns.
Some 90% of the motor donations Giveacar receives are scrapped. This is carried out to the highest environmental standards at authorized scrap yards, where vehicles are safely de-polluted before recycling. Taking these heavy-polluting cars off the roads forever is opening up the path to greener possibilities.
Article by Daniel Frank
photo: quinn.anya.
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Tags:  air pollution carbon emissions clean air end of life vehicle environmentally responsible recycling vehicles | [ Permalink ] |
this is an awesome advocacy, being environmental. i hope people will cooperate to scrap their old cars to prevent air pollution. this is for us to have a green environment free from pollution.