Good Green Cars » recycling

Lithium Batteries Can Be Recycled

kristen — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:36:00 +0000

Two Japanese companies are gearing up to collect lithium from electric and hybrid vehicle batteries for recycling, making green alternative fuels even greener. And the U.S. Department of Energy granted several million to Toxco to build the first lithium ion battery recycling plant in this country. Toxco already recycles lithium in British Columbia, Canada.

Lithium recycling is pretty small potatoes right now. Most of the hybrids on the road use lead-acid batteries, which are cheaper (so far) but less energy dense. Lithium ion batteries are used in many small electronics, like MP3 players and iPhones, and they’re gaining traction in electric vehicle manufacturing. As more battery power is required to run cars, and as more cars run at least partly on batteries, lithium recycling is likely to be big business.

According to HybridCars.com, the lithium recyclers will go online as soon as 2011 in one case, with the others soon to follow.

Cars Are the World’s Most Recycled Product

kristen — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:58:20 +0000

So say the geniuses over at Popular Science, anyway, and who am I to disagree? Each year, more than 95% of the 10 million vehicles headed for the parking garage in the sky end up being recycled. Of those cars, 75% of the parts are recycled. Thus, the crown for world’s most recycled product.

Here’s how PopSci breaks it down:

65% of the average vehicle is metal, like steel, iron, or copper, which can be used in construction
90% of all lead-acid batteries are recycled
86% of rubber tires are used to make pavement or fuel paper mills
380 million gallons of oil are refined and reused

Bentley Goes Greener, Gets Recycleable

kristen — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:46:43 +0000

Bentley, maker of high-end British cars, announced that all of its Continental models will be 85% recycleable (or 95% recoverable). This in addition to its promise to make its entire lineup FlexFuel compatible by 2012.

The company pointed out that it has also reduced gas, water, and electricity consumption by 25% over the past nine years while the number of cars that roll of the assembly line has grown by ten times in the same period.

It may be a moot point, though, this recyclability, as the company also pointed out that 70% of all Bentleys ever built are still on the road. Longevity and the low miles these cars usually rack up may be the greenest things about any large luxury car. That and the green it takes to buy one in the first place.

Photo by theignitionpoint.co.uk.

GM to Go “Landfill Free”

kristen — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:39:21 +0000

GM reported last week that it’s taken a large stride in its goal of making 80 of its largest manufacturing facilities “landfill free.” Another 33 plants have been added to the roster, bringing the total number of sites recycling 96% or more of their manufacturing waste to 43. In addition to high recycling requirements, the facilities must also convert at least 3% of their waste to energy.

While recycling and reusing leftover car bits has an undeniable environmental impact, it affects GM’s bottom line, too. Its global scrap metal recycling efforts have reached $1 billion a year, with another $16 million coming from the sale of recycled wood, cardboard, oil, and plastic.

Most of the factories on the list so far are outside the U.S., but so is most of GM’s manufacturing. The original list of 10 landfill-free facilities included five U.S. plants and five foreign. The addition of the next 33 has locations from Bupyeong, Korea, to Wixom, Michigan, and covers everything from powertrains to assembly.

GM said in a press release that it will recycle or reuse 3 million tons of waste this year, and keep 3.65 million metric tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere. Half of the company’s facilities will be landfill-free by 2010, according to the release.

Photo by EuroTraveler.