Known for being the big-hearted scheme that turns old cars into vital funds for good causes, we’ve always been proud to assure our charity partners, that when your car donations are ready for scrap, we provide responsible car recycling that looks after the environment.
Now electric vehicles (EVs) have been in general circulation for over a decade, many are coming to the end of their working life. Thanks to significant research and investment by our parent company CarTakeBack, we can continue to offer you and your chosen charity the same promise – to deliver responsible car recycling, protecting the environment – even for complicated electric vehicles.
These days most people are conscious about the importance of effective recycling, but many of our charity partners, whatever their category, have environmental policies that mean this type of reassurance is vital to them. And of course all our environmental charity partners are deeply invested in any activity that affects the environment. Organisations such as Cool Earth, WWF, RSPB, Rainforest Foundation UK and Clean Air Day can only work with fundraising and donation schemes that fit with their ethos. It was therefore essential for us to be able to not only accept EV donations from you, but also be able to recycle them effectively.
Once you’ve donated an old car that is ready to be scrapped, the car recycling network that started Charity Car – CarTakeBack – will look after that vehicle at your local branch.
CarTakeBack scrap car recycling centres are well versed at removing any hazardous fluids and parts from conventional petrol and diesel cars, with well-established safe systems of work and efficient processes. While electric vehicles that run only on battery power are mechanically simpler than their petrol or diesel counterparts, they are not easy to recycle, and hybrid electric vehicles are even more complex than petrol or diesel cars.
There are some dangers which apply to all cars, mainly due to the hazardous and flammable fluids which need to be safely removed, but the batteries in EVs carry many additional serious hazards.
CarTakeBack provides special training to car recycling centres and the individual operators to protect themselves and the environment. This means we have enough trained recyclers to provide a safe and effective end of life battery removal service to all parts of the UK. Before the battery itself is recycled, it has to be handled, stored and transported safely to minimise the risk of it getting damaged and potentially catching fire, injuring someone through electric shock or causing breathing difficulties through leaking chemicals.
EV batteries used to have to be exported to facilities in mainland Europe, which involved different types of transport, lots of paperwork and a substantial cost for each battery. Now, Ecobat Solutions, based here in the UK, has become the world’s biggest recycler of batteries and we work closely with this innovative company to ensure your EV car donations are fully recycled to the highest standards. Ecobat is careful to re-engineer batteries when they are capable of further operation, or, if they truly are at their end of life, process the battery cells to allow downstream extraction of precious materials, so they can be put back into the supply chain for new battery manufacturing. Sustainability and ultimately environmental protection is at the heart of what they do.
Donating an old car to a cause close to your heart is a great feeling and a wonderful end to a car’s life, but it also carries a responsibility to the environment. Thanks to the hard work of our parent company, here at Charity Car we can offer every supporter a trusted car recycling service, whatever the vehicle.
If you want to find out more about donating your car to a good cause why not take a look at the charities you can support with your old wheels…
