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ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT/MAKING CARS
source: www.worldcarfree.net
www.transport2000.org.uk/
factsandfigures/Facts.asp
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Manufacturing process involves not just the raw materials such as steel, iron, rubber, plastics and aluminium, but large amounts of substances that deplete the ozone layer, are greenhouse gasses, or use huge quantities of energy… - iron and steel making: needs large amounts of coal and limestone. A major producer of sulphur dioxide, acids and slag waste. Aluminium production: involves substantial soil degradation in bauxite mining. Smelters release sulphur dioxide and are substantial energy users. Zinc and lead industries: considerable waste problems and a variety of health threats. Copper smelting: sulphur dioxide emissions. Platinum production: six million tonnes of ore a year have to be refined for catalytic converters. Emissions from other pollutants: sulphuric acid for batteries; heavy metals and VOCs in paints; mercury in circuits; CFCs and other greenhouse gases used in foam seats and body parts; asbestos in brake pads;
- an average of 27 tons of waste is produced during the manufacture of one car. Disposal of old cars and car components - tyres, batteries and oil - further increase the environmental impact of the car. Cars use 10% of OECD plastics production, for a whole range of fittings, from fuel tanks to door handles. Disposal of the large amounts of plastics used in cars is difficult. Over 750,000 tonnes of scrap plastic were produced in 1990 just from cars in Europe;
- about 20% of worldwide energy use is for transport, 30% in OECD countries. Not all of the oil consumed by transport is used for vehicle fuel. Oil also goes into the plastics that form an increasing portion of vehicles (including, ironically, to reduce weight and improve vehicle efficiency). At odds with this, though, is the continuing tendency in some countries to buy larger, more powerful, cars, like Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), rather than smaller ones. That means using more materials in construction. In fact, production of vehicles and transport infrastructure accounts for some 40% of consumption of major materials, including cement, steel and aluminium. Ores are another non-renewable input. Some common metals like iron and copper are recycled, but recycling becomes increasingly difficult as more sophisticated alloys and blends are used. Better substitutes will no doubt be developed, but their acceptance will take time;
- starting with vehicles sold after January 1, 2001, automakers operating within the European Union will have to pay most of the cost of taking back and recycling cars at the end of their lives. And beginning in 2007, car manufacturers will have to take back all old cars, regardless of when they were built. Individual member governments are permitted to introduce the system earlier if they want to. By 2006, at least 80% of the weight of discarded cars must be reused or recycled; by 2015, the amount will rise to 85%. The new law also includes a general ban on the use of hazardous heavy metals like lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium in cars put on the market starting in 2003, although chromium will be allowed in small amounts for anti-corrosion purposes;
- so, is the entire picture of making cars so negative? Yes and no. Compared to the past, some relevant improvements are there... According to a 2005 study carried out by the University of Brighton, for example, cars do not use more energy in construction than operation. In the 1970s construction energy was calculated at 10-20%. Now more of a scrapped car is actually recycled than in the 70s, which is likely to reduce this further. But attention: 4x4s need up to 50% more energy to build than other cars. So - when making your purchasing choices - do the right thing!
The environmental cost of one car*| extracting raw materials | 26.5 tonnes of waste922 cubic metres of polluted air | | transporting raw materials | 12 litres of crude oil in the ocean425 million cubic metres of polluted air | | producing the car | 1.5 tonnes of waste74 million cubic metres of polluted air | | driving the car | 18.4 kilos of abrasive waste1,016 million cubic metres of polluted air | | disposing of the car | 102 million cubic metres of polluted air |
Source: “Cradle to the Grave”, Umweltund Prognose-Institut Heidelberg, 1993, mentioned in World Carefree Network [ www.worldcarfree.net/resources/stats.php#onecar]
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