Junk Yards Go Green

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At Bow’s Salvage, black rubber tires pile up nearly 20 feet.

Barrels sit full of oil and gas and other hazardous liquids.

Stacks of rusty cars line up along one side of the dirt lot.

Some are red, some green, new and old, but all are done for.

New Hampshire’s junkyards take in thousands of cars just like these every month.

But these yards don’t fill up.

85 percent of all junked cars in this state are recycled… usually in pieces.

Alan Lindquist owns Bow’s Salvage.

Lindquist prefers to use the term, auto-recycling center, instead of junkyard.

And he says these places look dirty but he does his best to keep the environment safe.

“It’s a lot harder to do things right, but those who don’t are giving us a bad name.”

And Lindquist says, it isn’t easy being green.

Cars contain some of the most environmentally hazardous materials.

From battery acid, Freon, gas and oil, to airbag cartridges which contain sodium azide.

And it all must be removed safely.

Bob Phelps owns Central Auto Recycling in Concord.

His shop is right nest to the Merrimack River.

One of his biggest concerns is the gasoline additive MbTE.

“Just eight ounces of MbTE can pollute one hundred gallons of water.”

So after removing all fluids and any parts his company can resell, they crush the cars.

And they’re sold for scrap metal.

Phelps, “See that stack of six cars? Now it’s six inches.”

Phelps sells the parts and materials to customers all over the world.

The fluids are stored, sold and used other ways.

Like Bow’s Salvage, Central Auto gives gas to employees and uses the oil he saves to heat the garages.

But Phelps takes his responsibility to the environment further than most auto recyclers.

In fact, the state has recognized Central Auto and 12 other junk yards as Green Yards.

The Green Yards mission encourages junkyards to go above and beyond state and federal regulations to ensure they are using the best practices to help the environment.

Pamela Sprague of the Department of Environmental Services helped write the Green Yards standards.

Sprague, “These standards ensure that recycling centers are going above and beyond the standards, keeping good housekeeping and overall using best practices for the environment.”

The program is only a year old but 30 out of 180 junkyards state wide have already signed up for the Green Yard Certification.

Sprague, “So we’re not really sure why everyone didn’t immediately jump on board. Some of it is the perception that it might cost them more money when in fact it could often be the other way around.”

According to Lindquist at Bow’s Salvage, using best practices at his yard helps prevent spills and that saves money in the long run.

Lindquist, “At first you are going to have to do things that are going to cost money. But in the long run, if you reined your ground and had to pay to get it cleaned up, it’s well worth taking acre of at first.”

But while Lindquist says he is doing the best he can, his yard still can’t boat the green flag.

Lindquist, “We have too much oil. Your only allowed 3 tons but we have little more because we need it to heat the place in the winter.”

Getting the Green Yard designation doesn’t give the owner much except for bragging rights and a green flag to hang outside his or her yard.

While Central Auto proudly boats their green flag, owner Phillips says the industry as a whole, still has a ways to go.

Phelps, “Fortunately in the US we have been able to get out recycle ability up to 85 percent where in the common union and Europe in the end of life program are up to about 95 and 98 percent. So we certainly still have room for improvement and can reach great strides in recycling in this country.”

They may be only at 85 percent, but the New Hampshire Auto and Truck Recycling Association boasts that their industry recycles more than any other.

For NHPR News, I’m Angie Wirtanen.