Whoops—'Cash for Clunkers' Actually Hurt the Environment

[MrsSmith]

Whoops—'Cash for Clunkers' Actually Hurt the Environment

According to E Magazine, the “Clunkers” program, which is officially known as the Car Allowance Rebates System (CARS), produced tons of unnecessary waste while doing little to curb greenhouse gas emissions.  The program's first mistake seems to have been its focus on car shredding, instead of car recycling. With 690,000 vehicles traded in, that's a pretty big mistake.

According to the Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA), automobiles are almost completely recyclable, down to their engine oil and brake fluid. But many of the “Cash for Clunkers” cars were never sent to recycling facilities. The agency reports that the cars’ engines were instead destroyed by federal mandate, in order to prevent dealers from illicitly reselling the vehicles later.


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Shredding vehicles results in its own environmental nightmare. For each ton of metal produced by a shredding facility, roughly 500 pounds of “shredding residue” is also produced, which includes polyurethane foams, metal oxides, glass and dirt. All totaled, about 4.5 million tons of that residue is already produced on average every year. Where does it go? Right into a landfill.

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And though the point was to get less fuel efficient cars off the roads, with only 690,000 traded in, and over 250 million registered in the U.S., the difference in pollutant levels seems pretty negligible.

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According to a recent TriCities op-ed from Mike Smith of Ralph Smith Motors in Virginia, CARS created a dearth of used cars, artificially driving up prices. For those who needed an affordable car, but didn’t qualify for the program, this increase in price meant affordable transportation was well out of reach. It also meant used-car dealers, most of whom are independently owned, small-business owners, had little to no stock. According to Smith, 122 Virginia (and what about other states?  50 x 122 dealers gone??) dealers chose not to renew their licenses after that year.

Legislation from the "eduated, informed" party.   

[DLR Pyro]

alongs the same lines as when the Feds mandated the use of MTBE in gasoline to oxygenate the fuel to reduce tail pipe emissions.  The problem is MTBE is a persistent chemical that leaked in the ground contaminating the water tables resulting in lawsuits and billions of $$ for cleanup.

Trying to solve one problem created another one.  Your tax $$$ at work.

[catsmtrods]

Again knee jerk libs! Must do something even if its wrong!

[thundley4]

How environmentally safe was the chemical used to make the used car's engines seize up before they were shredded.

[Chris_]

How environmentally safe was the chemical used to make the used car's engines seize up before they were shredded.

It was a mix of lubricant and silica.  The whole thing was melted down and sent to a Chinese steel factory on a boat.

[thundley4]

It was a mix of lubricant and silica.  The whole thing was melted down and sent to a Chinese steel factory on a boat.

Thanks, I couldn't remember.  Is silica one of those things that cause lung problems?

[Chris_]

Thanks, I couldn't remember.  Is silica one of those things that cause lung problems?

Silica is sand used to make glass.  It was basically a mix of glass and oil.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/08/cash-for-clunkers-the-environmental-cost-of-a-new-car/