Automakers Recycle

November 15th is America Recycles Day-Proof Point: Auto Industry Out in Front?

NEW YORK, Nov. 14 -- You do your part to recycle your bottles and cans-but have you stopped to wonder what happens to the things you can't recycle on your own?

Every year, America's automakers produce roughly 60 million new cars. Have you bought a new car recently? Have you stopped to think what happens to your old car, once it's stopped running? Is anyone out there working on where your car goes for eternity? Surprise ...

Fact is 95% of today's autos go through recycling. Currently nearly 80% of the weight of each vehicle is recycled -- much of it traditional metals. However, as cars grow lighter and use more composite products, alloys and plastics-are we equipped to begin recycling and reusing those materials? What is the secret that is turning this problem into solutions like: new headlight reflectors, carpet underlayment, new auto front grills, battery covers and more? What is the automotive industry doing to facilitate recycling of ALL parts of the car?

Argonne National Laboratory is one of the U.S. Department of Energy's largest research centers.

USCAR is a research and technology research organization of America's "Big 3" automakers-DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors.