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Responsible recycling

What Happens to Your Car After You Sell It to Us

A scrapped car is not just crushed and forgotten. Here is how an end-of-life vehicle is responsibly recycled.

When a car reaches the end of its life, responsible recycling follows a clear order: hazardous components are removed first, fluids are drained, usable parts are recovered, and the remaining metal shell is shredded and separated for recycling. Most of a vehicle’s weight is steel and other metals, so most of it can return to use.

Step 1 — Depollution

Before anything is crushed, the vehicle is depolluted. The lead-acid battery, tires, and airbags are removed, and the fluids are drained — engine oil, coolant, brake and transmission fluid, and fuel. Air-conditioning refrigerant is recovered by a certified technician rather than vented, which is standard environmental practice. This step keeps hazardous materials out of the ground and out of the shredder.

Step 2 — Parts and metal recovery

Usable parts are removed for reuse, then the stripped hulk is shredded and the metals are separated. According to the Automotive Recyclers Association, roughly 86% of a vehicle’s material is recycled, reused, or recovered, and steel — the largest share of a car by weight — is recycled at very high rates into new products.

How it’s regulated in Alberta

In Alberta, waste and hazardous-recyclable handling falls under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA) and its Waste Control Regulation. Some materials that come out of a vehicle — used oil, oil filters, and tires — are also managed under Alberta Recycling Management Authority (ARMA) programs. There is no single vehicle-specific statute; the work is governed through these general environmental rules. We describe this as general practice rather than a specific facility’s process.

Why it matters to you

Choosing a buyer who recycles responsibly means your old vehicle is depolluted and its metal recovered — not dumped to leak fluids into the soil. It is part of every documented sale we complete. Recycle your car responsibly — get a quote.

General information about end-of-life vehicle recycling and Alberta environmental practice, not a description of a specific facility’s workflow. Recovery figures are industry estimates (Automotive Recyclers Association).

Good questions

What happens to your car — FAQ

In general industry practice, a scrapped car is first depolluted — the battery, tires, and airbags are removed and the fluids are drained — then usable parts are recovered and the metal shell is shredded and separated for recycling. Most of a vehicle’s material is steel and other metals, which are recycled into new products.

Industry figures from the Automotive Recyclers Association put it around 86% of a vehicle’s material recycled, reused, or recovered. Steel — the bulk of a car by weight — is recycled at very high rates. The remainder is tires, fluids, glass, and plastics, which are handled separately rather than landfilled where avoidable.

Hazardous components are removed before anything is crushed. The lead-acid battery is taken out for recycling, and fluids — engine oil, coolant, brake and transmission fluid, and fuel — are drained and collected. Air-conditioning refrigerant must be recovered by a certified technician rather than vented, as a matter of standard practice.

Waste and hazardous-recyclable handling in Alberta falls under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA) and its Waste Control Regulation. Some materials that come out of a vehicle — used oil, oil filters, and tires — are also covered by Alberta Recycling Management Authority (ARMA) programs. There is no single vehicle-specific statute.

It means your old vehicle is depolluted and recycled rather than dumped, leaking fluids into the ground. Selling to a buyer who handles the car responsibly keeps hazardous materials out of the environment and returns the steel and metals to use — and it is part of every documented sale we complete.
Done right

Recycle your car responsibly — get a quote

We buy end-of-life vehicles across the Edmonton area, tow them free, and pay at pickup — with every sale fully documented.

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