According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the auto or transportation industry is among the industries producing the most waste in the country. It doesn’t only just produce waste in the form of old and unusable cars. The industry is also responsible for quite an amount of chemical waste. For instance, much chemical waste is generated when workers degrease, wash, or remove the vehicles’ rust. Such chemical waste includes ammonium hydroxide, benzene, and chromic acid. These chemicals come from oil or grease, petroleum distillates, and even used rags.
There are many ways to limit the waste and carbon footprint of the United States. And it’s been clear that, in the last few years, the auto industry has been doing its part for the environment. Today, there are many trends in how the industry manages its waste. And what’s even better about this is that the industry manages its waste starting from the design process of creating the vehicles to the actual usage. Thus, it’s been changing and improving waste management within the system, leading to long-term solutions.
Using Quality Materials and Services
One of the most basic practices in living a more eco-conscious lifestyle is making smart investments. For example, instead of using plastic razors that come in just a few cents in drugstores, we can invest in a metal razor with replaceable blades. It definitely costs much more than the plastic ones. But at least we won’t need to keep on disposing and buying razors every once in a while. The same goes for cars.
A prime example of what we can invest in is the paint job. According to the EPA, vehicles’ paint jobs can lead to much chemical waste such as alcohols, methyl ethyl ketone, and isobutyl ketone. In a worst-case scenario, such chemicals might end up in the water system if not properly treated. To limit the risk of such waste, we can opt for high-quality paint jobs so that we won’t have to keep on acquiring this service. To improve our cars’ paint job, we can even opt for the best car clear bra service we can find to make sure that this investment is in for the long haul.
Using Bio-renewable Materials
Sometimes, designers and manufacturers of cars can’t find long-lasting materials for some of their cars’ parts. When that’s the case, they can opt for materials that can be renewed. Thus, they’re not producing much waste that would only end up in landfills or oceans. This is what many car companies have been doing. Many have created innovations in the name of a more eco-conscious business by using plant-based materials.
An example is Ford. It was the first car company to use plant-based materials in the foam of the car seats. They introduced to the industry soy foam, which was used in the 2008 Mustang. The company extracted oil from soybeans locally grown in the United States. And they used that to create soy foam. This initiative from Ford lowered the production of petroleum used in traditional cushions by five million pounds each year. And they were able to reduce the company’s carbon emissions by 25 million pounds every year.
Recycling Steel and Other Materials
The thing about cars is that once the heart of it, the engine, is broken and unrepairable, it would render the whole vehicle unusable by the driver. But this doesn’t mean that the whole vehicle is completely useless. Many of its parts can be reused or recycled for other vehicles. And this is what many car companies have been doing for years.
Steel is one of the most recycled materials from old cars. This helps significantly in the industry’s waste management because manufacturing steel takes a lot of materials and can emit high carbon emissions rates.
Promoting Car Rental
Lastly, and probably the most significant initiative, is the promotion of car rental. Instead of buying cars and not using them too much is the biggest waste anyone can do in the auto industry. By promoting car rentals, the auto industry won’t have to produce too many cars, leading to abandonment in junkyards.
Given these trends, it’s clear that the auto industry has been doing its part in waste management and, essentially, creating a better world. Knowing how they transform their waste management system can inspire other industries to do the same thing. This would definitely help the country lower its carbon emission rates and help save the planet.
