Auto Recyclers, Exempted From State Rules for Years, Begin to Feel the Heat

[phantom power]

Off the road, junk cars continue to pollute because of what some critics say is a decades-long failure by California to properly regulate the powerful automobile recycling industry. Millions of tons of potentially toxic refuse created by recyclers of cars and heavy home appliances in the Bay Area have been buried in municipal landfills, instead of being transported in specially designated trucks and placed in dumps for toxic materials — a mode of transport and disposal that can dramatically increase costs.

The recyclers are able to avoid the increased cost of toxic waste disposal because of a special exemption from state regulators.

“Populations have moved close to those landfills,” said Gale Filter, a former deputy director for enforcement at the Department of Toxic Substances Control, or D.T.S.C., under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. “We have an industry that’s not keeping pace with huge concerns about human health and the environment.”

...

In 2010, auto shredders deposited 591,271 tons of waste in California landfills. At the same time, their massive shredders can spew tons of toxic dust into the air, putting nearby residents at risk, according to a study by the University of California, Davis, that was commissioned by the toxic substance control agency. The industry commissioned its own study, which concluded that toxic emissions detected near a Los Angeles area facility came from sources other than automobile shredding.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/10/science/earth/california-auto-recyclers-brace-for-tightened-regulations.html?_r=1

[JohnnyRingo]

1. I hope this doesn't hurt the used car parts business too much

While it seems to make sense that regulating junk cars that sit for decades would be good for the environment, excessive laws could thin the number of locations available. The shortage of used parts will make keeping an older model running less feasable and cause owners to scrap their used cars sooner. While it may help curb one source of pollution in our throw-away society, this could lead to an expensive increase in turnover for the consumers. When one cannot find a fender or a transmission for their 1996 Buick, it's going to the baler.

This is the kind of law that could be written by new car lobbyists.