GREENER, MEANER, CLEANER

YOU’RE LOOKING AT A FRESHLY REFURBISHED RECYCLING INDUSTRY

The automotive recycling industry is thriving, don’t you know? The days of “scrapyards” or “car junkyards” are long behind us. Any modern auto recycler or member of the Automotive Recyclers of Canada (ARC) will know the ins and outs of the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR) for end-of-life vehicle waste disposal sites in Ontario. For those unaware, all activities related to end-of-life waste disposal sites are required to register in the EASR and have had to do so since September 2016.

According to information received from the government to Steve Fletcher, managing director of the ARC, 102 EASR-related inspections took place in 2021, with an average pass rate of 12 percent and an average failure rate of 60 percent. The inspections were made based on tips from sources; thus, those inspected were already suspected to be operating against environmental standards.

Further, the auto repair industry continues to navigate parts shortages in the wake of the pandemic. When Canadian Auto Recyclers magazine conducted interviews for the 2022 edition of its annual magazine, auto recyclers across Canada commented on their sales through the pandemic—some businesses had never seen numbers so high. An industry that was already laser-focused on the online car parts market and was certainly familiar with the online car buying world, many auto parts recyclers were able to take advantage of the parts shortages and DIY parts projects, when stay-at-home orders were in place.

All of that said—and more on the horizon— the used auto parts market and auto recycling sector is not the same as the stereotypes in your head. In the same way that ‘bodyshops’ have transitioned to ‘collision repair centres’, automotive recycling facilities have increased awareness, efficiency and protocols across the board—let the top-notch products on the following pages serve as proof.