A Car in Need of Recycling
Auto Shredder Residue or ASR is a real thing! ASR is non-recyclable material from a vehicle and our world has about 5 Million tons of ASR each year dumped into landfills on God’s green earth.One fact states that we will all be better off if we had less ASR. The current good news from the U.S. Council of Automotive Research or USCAR, reports that we have just over 20% of ASR from each car. Today’s automotive recyclers are able to recover approximately 80% of the combined total of material, by weight, from a car.The good news continues:
– More than 25 million tons of materials from vehicles each year are recycled.
– People save a great deal of money buying rebuilt or used parts instead of new ones.
– Auto Recyclers provide over one-third of ferrous scrap to the U.S. scrap processing industry. This scrap iron and steel used instead of virgin ore reduces air and water pollution in the manufacturing process by over 50%*. *Source EPA
– More than 25 million tons of materials from vehicles each year are recycled.
– People save a great deal of money buying rebuilt or used parts instead of new ones.
– Auto Recyclers provide over one-third of ferrous scrap to the U.S. scrap processing industry. This scrap iron and steel used instead of virgin ore reduces air and water pollution in the manufacturing process by over 50%*. *Source EPA
“Yet, we should not be satisfied with the above good news…”
Recycled Glass Back Splash
However, we should not be satisfied with the above good news or ever stop asking questions. Case and point, almost 27 million cars in our world reach the end of their useful life every year and are in need of recycling. From all those vehicles we have the 5 million tons of ASR. Items that are listed as non-recyclable are below, but my question is why are they not recyclable?ASR includes: plastics, glass, rubber, wood, paper, fabric, sand, dirt, ferrous and non ferrous metal pieces.
PLASTICS: I must ask why they are on the list, because most plastics, polymers, resins, and co-polymers can be recycled one way or another.
GLASS: Have you seen the many beautiful designs of recycled tempered glass for use as a kitchen back splash?
RUBBER: aka car tires and various trim, are now being recycle to replace mulch and wood chips. The rubber chips last dozens of years longer and are guaranteed to hold the color for eleven years. So around my flower beds and trees I am using recycled rubber instead of wood chips that decay away in a year while attracting certain unwanted insects. Please note that I am not using them near or around my vegetable garden or fruit trees! I do not want any of the carcinogens that may still be present in the Rubber getting into my food.
WOOD: Really? Many furniture companies practically use saw dust held together with glue, instead of solid wood.
FABRIC: I have a hand-made three foot high, two foot diameter basket with cover, from Kenya that is woven completely out of used cloths and fabrics.
SAND and DIRT: Sort it, clean it and put it back outside!
METAL: This just sounds like small pieces of scrap metal not worth the time to recycle because it doesn’t make enough money. So find another way! How about belt buckles for pants?We cannot just believe all good will be done automatically and in a just the right amount of time. Only make-believe superheroes do that. We must be the real superheroes and we get our power from knowledge. Never stop being educated and always ask the questions.
RUBBER: aka car tires and various trim, are now being recycle to replace mulch and wood chips. The rubber chips last dozens of years longer and are guaranteed to hold the color for eleven years. So around my flower beds and trees I am using recycled rubber instead of wood chips that decay away in a year while attracting certain unwanted insects. Please note that I am not using them near or around my vegetable garden or fruit trees! I do not want any of the carcinogens that may still be present in the Rubber getting into my food.
WOOD: Really? Many furniture companies practically use saw dust held together with glue, instead of solid wood.
FABRIC: I have a hand-made three foot high, two foot diameter basket with cover, from Kenya that is woven completely out of used cloths and fabrics.
SAND and DIRT: Sort it, clean it and put it back outside!
METAL: This just sounds like small pieces of scrap metal not worth the time to recycle because it doesn’t make enough money. So find another way! How about belt buckles for pants?We cannot just believe all good will be done automatically and in a just the right amount of time. Only make-believe superheroes do that. We must be the real superheroes and we get our power from knowledge. Never stop being educated and always ask the questions.
Bill Lauto is an Environmental Scientist and Energy Consultant who came on the scene in 1981 to present facts and teach details about how we can save money, energy, and our environment, without making sacrifices. His voice was one among the few who taught green facts long before anyone else talked about Going Green.
Mr. Lauto has an Environmental Science degree from St. John's University, Energy Auditor Certification from New York Institute of Technology, and Certification in Thermal/Heating from S.U.N.Y. at Farmingdale. He interned at Equitable Environmental Health that brought him to evaluate the environment at LILCO's Nuclear power plant that never opened. As an entrepreneur, he operates EnergyHotwire.com, GoingTrueGreen.com and holds a U.S. Patent with a Trademark on an environmental and energy-related product.
Mr. Lauto has done and managed thousands of energy audits for homeowners. Not one recommended a single action that implied sacrifice. He never stated once that to save money and energy one must turn down their thermostat and wear a sweater. During the 20th Anniversary of Earth Day, Bill Lauto was the Energy Advisor to the Earth Day Committee in New York. Mr. Lauto was the attending expert witness to the press conferences of former New York’s Major Dinkins and Commissioner Mark Green. His expertise has been utilized by power companies such as: the New York Power Authority and the Long Island Lighting Company as well as by Mr. Mark Green, former Commissioner of Consumer Affairs, NYC.
Mr. Lauto has served as the Environmental and Energy expert on several television news and radio talk shows. He has provided information and consulting services on topics such as: air, cooling, heating, lighting, appliances, recycling stations, solar, wind, bio-fuels, hydrogen and water to: Clearwater, Consumer Report Magazine, European American Bank, Home Depot, LILCO, NBC, Macy*s, New York Power Authority, NYPIRG, Time Warner, EPA, thousands of homeowners, celebrities, small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and many government accounts.
Information about Mr. Lauto, his articles, and work have been published in newspapers across the country, including: Consumer Report magazine, Kiplinger's Financial magazine and Business Ethics magazine. Mr. Lauto has been interviewed by ABC news, the New York Times, Cable News L.I. and was in a special television home audit hosted by Al Roker of NBC, but was never aired due to breaking news.
For over twenty years, Mr. Lauto has been stating that we don’t need foreign oil, we have the technology to make America energy independent. EnergyHotwire.com serves to educate the public for free on how to lower energy cost by 60% or more, while GoingTrueGreen.com uses videos and Mr. Lauto's Blog to help dispel mis-information and provide the facts about truly Going Green.
Mr. Lauto has an Environmental Science degree from St. John's University, Energy Auditor Certification from New York Institute of Technology, and Certification in Thermal/Heating from S.U.N.Y. at Farmingdale. He interned at Equitable Environmental Health that brought him to evaluate the environment at LILCO's Nuclear power plant that never opened. As an entrepreneur, he operates EnergyHotwire.com, GoingTrueGreen.com and holds a U.S. Patent with a Trademark on an environmental and energy-related product.
Mr. Lauto has done and managed thousands of energy audits for homeowners. Not one recommended a single action that implied sacrifice. He never stated once that to save money and energy one must turn down their thermostat and wear a sweater. During the 20th Anniversary of Earth Day, Bill Lauto was the Energy Advisor to the Earth Day Committee in New York. Mr. Lauto was the attending expert witness to the press conferences of former New York’s Major Dinkins and Commissioner Mark Green. His expertise has been utilized by power companies such as: the New York Power Authority and the Long Island Lighting Company as well as by Mr. Mark Green, former Commissioner of Consumer Affairs, NYC.
Mr. Lauto has served as the Environmental and Energy expert on several television news and radio talk shows. He has provided information and consulting services on topics such as: air, cooling, heating, lighting, appliances, recycling stations, solar, wind, bio-fuels, hydrogen and water to: Clearwater, Consumer Report Magazine, European American Bank, Home Depot, LILCO, NBC, Macy*s, New York Power Authority, NYPIRG, Time Warner, EPA, thousands of homeowners, celebrities, small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and many government accounts.
Information about Mr. Lauto, his articles, and work have been published in newspapers across the country, including: Consumer Report magazine, Kiplinger's Financial magazine and Business Ethics magazine. Mr. Lauto has been interviewed by ABC news, the New York Times, Cable News L.I. and was in a special television home audit hosted by Al Roker of NBC, but was never aired due to breaking news.
For over twenty years, Mr. Lauto has been stating that we don’t need foreign oil, we have the technology to make America energy independent. EnergyHotwire.com serves to educate the public for free on how to lower energy cost by 60% or more, while GoingTrueGreen.com uses videos and Mr. Lauto's Blog to help dispel mis-information and provide the facts about truly Going Green.
