Automobiles Filling Up Junk Yards and Landfills

We see run-out, decaying, junky cars in frontout back. You can see this on every back
yards, in fields, tow yards, auto auctions backhighway in America and every small town
yards, junk yards and dump areas set aside forserviced or within 100 miles of a Wal-Mart. In
this purpose. Hawaii, the Big Island we saw areasother words every where in every small town.
where the cars were just piled up. Well on anStarting in January of 2007 all European Cars sold
island it is a big problem because as populationwill be the responsibility of the manufacturer no
expands so do the cars and if people buy newmatter how long the vehicle is in service.If a new
cars what about all the old ones? Well they justFord Mini-van is in a crash after only 2 months on
pile up and then what do you do? It costs moneythe road it will be the Ford's responsibility. If it is
to ship cars off the island, so you trade in youron the road for 40 years and then junked it will
old car and let the dealership deal with it, but hebe Ford's problem. Sounds a bit of a problem to
doesn't want it either.We have seen in frontme like our under funded pensions in this country
yards of mobile homes years of junked carsof which the Big three are probably a good
rusting away in GA, AL, LA, MS, SC. We areexample of a serious problem with blue chip
talking total junk, not just undrivable butcompanies. Scary thought. You see as countries
neighborhood rodents and varmints living in them.become more socialist the consumer will not be
I can remember as a kid the local cities wouldresponsible for anything.Right now 75% of
have junk days where they would go tot hevehicles in the EU are ELV'ed they wish to
canyons and hit the streets to pickup abandonedincrease this to 85% by 2006 a noble cause. 95%
vehicles and take them to a metal recycler orby 2015. But we know this is absolutely the
crusher. CA had a CRV-California Redemptionwrong way to do this after all the State of CA
value so you could get money for the metal inset and dictated a timeline for electric vehicles and
aluminum cans, old cars or plastic containers. Eachthat did not work, today in the Business News
year in this country vehicles are recycled,GM announced it was completely cutting the plug
crushed, sent to the middle east in containers andon all electric vehicles for the newer technology of
of course recently in the last six years we haveFuel Cell. And pursuing the Fuel Cell development
had a big push to donate to a church orproject with UPD. Meanwhile with all the EPA
synagogue or non-profit. Good idea, I candeadlines un-met and all the passed costs to
remember making money for one non-profitbusinesses by light, Medium and Heavy duty truck
group allowing people to smash a baseball bat formanufacturers, FedEx's Fred Smith put out a
$1.00 per hit, with a guaranteed uncorked bat. Butchallenge that he wanted 50% more fuel efficient
suspension if you hit the safety glass. Later whenunits with 90% less emissions. Apparently these
OSHA standards came out as Senior Classdo-gooders do not understand entrepreneurship
President of the HS we started wearing gogglesotherwise they would be solving the world's
when we allowed the people to smash the car.problems by creating not accusing.Renault adopted
Then a friend whose dad owned a tow companya plan on their own called LEM-Life-Cycle
took it to Pick-Your-Part Junk Yard in the Valley,Management and found 13 key vendors to
today totally wired with every make and modelachieve this, a much better and well organized
and part listed on the Internet and most hard toplan this was back in 1999. They made all
find stuff on Ebay and all the junk yards are allcomponents recyclable, well 90% including the
interconnected on a trunk repeater Motorolaplastics and other materials for their top selling
Radio System. The junk yard business has reallycars; Laguna II, Mid Size Panel Vans (you have
progressed over the years.America has a love forseen them in cops and robber movies in France
the automobile and many of the old cars arechasing James Bond), Clio II and the Val Satis.
fixed up. About a decade ago you may recall aExcellent achievement for the French Car
program where oil companies in some statesCompany. Similar to the 90% of their recycled
could buy old cars and get them off the streetsstory about the Oil for Arms Program with Iraq.
and trade for pollution credits, of which El PasoDid I say Arms, no no FOOD, we we Food, yes
and Enron both enjoyed trading. Enron tradedfood, silly me. Other ideas of the ELV program is
everything from Lumber futures and pollution toto use easy to dis-assemble parts, like what Dell
energy and just about anything consumable thatis doing with computer trade-ins, yes Michael is
the Boys in Chicago had not yet created thealways leading edge, he deserves an award. see
market for. If it is not bolted to the floor andwhen you take apart computers especially old
contracts were drawn for future use, you canones they have gold plated components on the
bet it was on the potential list to be traded.circuit boards and connections. Dell only charges
Bandwidth, oil pipeline capacity, water you name it.$15.00 to recycle and they get at least $8-22 in
Commoditizing the world has advantages and thisgold out of each one. Once apart they can be
is one way to control the junk and costs67% recycled. The EU wants certain things to no
associated. This has always been a freelonger be used in the manufacturing of cars, such
enterprise theme to reduce pollution here in theas mercury, hexavalent chromium, cadium and
US.In the European Union 7.3 million cars per yearlead. Most US Manufacturers have already done
are ELV'ed or ELV Treated, although there are 11this completely and the rest will soon be
million total sent to the graveyard, furnace, junkcompleted. Smaller companies such as MG Rover
yard or recycle crushers, but first plastics andwhich use to produce millions of cars now only
other items are taken apart. In the US we justsells 200,000 per year in the UK, the UK likes the
crush the crap out of them and deal with theidea and are up with the compliance anyway
entire pancake. Let's face it this is a good start.seeing as they agree since they are on an island.
Problem is that each Country in the EU hasBut you can always drive the cars to Europe in
different guidlines, these countries can neverthe Chunnel and they do not want the
make up their mind. For instance the debtreciprocate, the UK says we are not a junk yard.
borrowing of the Euro in Germany and France andUK has it's own plan called: ACORD-Automotive
the rest of the countries having to pay later forConsortium on Recycling and Disposal. They are
the hamburger today.In the US we have theproposing a cash incentive for turning in a vehicle,
United States, although often act like the Unitedthe Economist and the Futurists have both had
Countries although we are not much better as inarticles on this thought and it is similar to the Oil
almost every industry we have a different set ofCompanies paying to get off the road those cars
laws. Even smaller states with little populationwhich would not run on Unleaded fuels and needed
bases have conflicting laws, states such as VT,the lead additive. People were paid to dispose, in
ID, WY, MT, NM, NH, RI, WV, IA, NE, ND, SD.this case though people are paid to dispose
States like CA, OR, WA, MA act like socialistproperly and the UK would let the manufacturers
countries and obvious are paying for it now.off the hook and let the owner be responsible
Beware the socialists in their goal to make allafter all they own the car and there is no telling
things equal, they can ruin anything, ask Plato. Thehow many owners a car in Europe may have had
problem being making non-linear decisions for theduring its life before it became an end of life
best of the country is nearly impossible, for us tovehicle like Logan in Logan's Run and had to be
come to terms of our leadership role in therenewed.The UK's Motor Vehicle Dismantlers
Americas we have a lot to be desired on many aAssociation agreed that the owner would be given
front.We can do better than this, but we fightthe $75.00 equivalent in pounds as an incentive.
over the means, why? There can be no excuse.Probably also would need to be based on inflation
No wonder we cannot come up with solutions toand the CPI-Consumer Price Index you know the
issues like the junked vehicles, which leak all kindsBrits in their need to be exact, they are all
of things when they rot in fields and bleed ironwannabe economists. Failure to properly dispose
oxides, heavy metals asbestos, and oil, fuel (turnsand renew registration on the vehicle would mean
to varnish), brake fluids, radiator fluids andthat the fine penalty would be issued to their
obviously leach into the ground water pf the localdrivers license, they are more connected there.
farm and cause all kinds of cancers and problemsBut the problem is inconsistencies for instance
with kidneys. There are issues. But also we seeGreece had no shredding sites, while Germany
old farm implements and other equipment junkedhas 42, Italy 16, France 42 and in the UK 37 total.