Car recycling saves metal, cuts pollution, and keeps old vehicles from rotting in a field somewhere. But if you ask ten people how much of a car actually gets recycled, you’ll probably get ten different guesses. Some think it’s almost the whole thing, while others assume most of a junk car ends up buried in a landfill.
Want to know the exact answer?
Keep reading, as this article explains how much of a vehicle can be recycled and what happens to it piece by piece once it’s recycled.
The Short Answer: What Percentage of a Car Gets Recycled?
Over 80% of a vehicle, by weight, gets recycled, reused, or turned into energy. The Automotive Recyclers Association puts the number at 86%. Steel and iron make up the bulk of that weight, and mills melt it down at a recovery rate near 90%. The remaining 14% to 20% is called auto shredder residue, or ASR. This is the leftover mix of foam, fabric, dirt, and mixed plastics that current technology can’t easily separate or sell.
Breaking Down What’s Recyclable in an Average Vehicle
A car isn’t one material. It’s a mix of steel, aluminum, rubber, glass, and fluids, and each one gets handled differently once the vehicle reaches a recycler. Some parts get melted down. Others get drained, filtered, or resold whole. Knowing how each piece gets processed explains why the recycling rate lands where it does, and why certain parts almost never make it back into use.
Steel and Metal Body Parts
Steel makes up close to 65% of a car’s total weight, which is why it drives the overall recycling percentage so heavily. Once a vehicle is stripped of fluids and reusable parts, a shredder tears the body down into fist-sized chunks. Magnets then pull the ferrous steel away from everything else. That scrap heads to a mill, where it’s melted and reused, often ending up as rebar, appliances, or another car’s frame. Steel can go through this cycle over and over without losing strength, which is part of why the automotive recycling industry supplies over a third of the ferrous metal used in U.S. blast furnaces.
Aluminum Components
Aluminum is found in wheels, engine blocks, and increasingly in hoods and body panels on newer cars built for better fuel economy. It’s lighter than steel, but by scrap value it’s worth far more, close to half the value of the whole vehicle despite being 10% to 16% of the weight. Recyclers separate it from steel using an eddy current separator, a machine that uses a magnetic field to fling non-ferrous metal away from the rest of the shredded material. About 90% of a car’s aluminum gets recovered this way, and recycled aluminum takes a fraction of the energy to remelt compared to producing it from raw ore.
Tires and Rubber
Tires almost never get landfilled anymore, and for good reason. Whole tires trap methane gas and take up huge amounts of space, so most states restrict or ban dumping them intact. Instead, recyclers shred tires into crumb rubber, which is used in playground surfaces, running tracks, and asphalt mixes. Some rubber gets pyrolyzed, a heat process that breaks it down into oil, gas, and carbon black for reuse. New tires typically include around 10% recycled rubber, and that same material appears in floor mats and brake pedals.
Glass
Windshields and windows are more difficult to recycle than many other vehicle parts. Windshield glass is laminated, meaning it has a plastic layer sandwiched between two sheets of glass to keep it from shattering into sharp pieces during a crash. That lamination has to be separated before the glass can be recycled, which takes specialized equipment most basic scrap yards don’t have. Side and rear windows, called tempered glass, are easier to process and more commonly recycled into fiberglass insulation, container glass, or road surfacing material.
Fluids Like Oil, Coolant, and Gasoline
Before a car ever hits the shredder, every fluid gets drained. This step matters for keeping the process legal and safe. Motor oil gets filtered and re-refined for reuse. Coolant is reclaimed and can be reused after filtration. Gasoline gets drained out and repurposed rather than left to evaporate or leak. The Automotive Recyclers Association estimates the industry keeps over 100 million gallons of gasoline and tens of millions of gallons of oil and coolant out of the ground and waterways every year through this draining process alone.
Also Read: Why Recycling Old Cars Is Important for Sustainability?
What Happens to the Parts That Can’t Be Recycled?
The leftover material, mostly ASR, is a tangled mix of foam padding, wiring insulation, mixed plastics, dirt, and fabric that current sorting technology can’t cleanly separate. Because it’s such a blend of materials, no single recycling process fits all of it. Depending on the facility and local regulations, this residue can end up:
- buried in a permitted landfill
- burned for energy recovery at a waste-to-energy plant
- sent through advanced sorting lines that pull out a bit more usable plastic or metal
- stockpiled while recyclers test newer separation methods
Landfilling is still the most common outcome for ASR, though researchers keep working on better ways to pull recyclable plastic out of that mix before it gets buried.
Does Your Car’s Age or Condition Affect How Much Gets Recycled?
A vehicle’s age and condition can influence the car recycling process. Older cars, especially pre-1990s models, often recycle at a higher steel percentage because they contain less plastic and fewer electronics than modern vehicles. Newer cars trade some of that steel for lightweight composites and sensors, which improve fuel economy but make dismantling more complex. A 20-year-old sedan may also produce less automotive shredder residue (ASR) because it contains fewer synthetic materials.
Condition matters just as much as age. A flooded or fire-damaged vehicle often loses parts that would otherwise get resold, like electronics or upholstery, pushing more material straight to the shredder for scrap value only. A wrecked but mechanically sound car still offers salvageable parts like the transmission or alternator, which recyclers pull before scrapping the rest.
Why Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Are Harder to Recycle?
EV and hybrid batteries contain lithium, cobalt, and nickel packed into cells that aren’t safe to shred like regular scrap. A punctured lithium-ion cell can short-circuit and ignite, so batteries must be fully discharged and disassembled by trained technicians before any further processing can happen.
Beyond the battery, these vehicles carry more copper wiring, high-voltage cabling, and specialized electronics than a gas-powered car. Recyclers need separate equipment and certified handling procedures for these components, and the process takes longer and costs more than standard vehicle dismantling.
Junking vs Recycling: What’s the Difference for You as the Owner?
If your car still runs or has parts in demand, junking it usually gets you more cash because a buyer can resell the engine, transmission, or body panels before sending the remaining materials for car recycling. If it’s badly damaged, flooded, or missing major components, recycling it for scrap metal value may be the faster option. Knowing which category your vehicle falls into helps you understand what kind of offer to expect and how quickly the process can move.
| Factor | Junking (Parts Resale) | Recycling (Scrap Value Only) |
| Best for | Running or repairable cars | Non-running, badly damaged, or flooded cars |
| Payout | Usually higher, based on resale parts | Based mainly on metal weight |
| Turnaround time | May take longer to assess and sort parts | Faster, since it skips part inspection |
| What gets kept | Engine, transmission, body panels get resold | Nothing gets resold; everything goes to the shredder |
| Paperwork | Same title transfer process | Same title transfer process |
Thinking About Recycling Your Vehicle? Jersey Junk Cars Can Help
Jersey Junk Cars has been buying and recycling vehicles across New Jersey for over a decade, handling everything from storm-damaged cars to old sedans that just won’t start anymore. Our team drains fluids, pulls reusable parts, and recycles the metal properly instead of letting a junk car sit and leak into the ground. We pick up anywhere in New Jersey, usually within the hour, tow it for free, and pay cash on the spot for any condition or model. If you’ve got a car taking up space in your driveway, call us and get a real offer today.
FAQs
What percentage of a car can be recycled?
More than 80% of a car, by weight, gets recycled, reused, or turned into energy. Steel makes up most of that figure since it accounts for close to 65% of a vehicle’s total weight. The rest, called auto shredder residue, usually ends up in a landfill.
What parts of a car cannot be recycled?
Foam padding, wiring insulation, mixed plastics, and fabric usually can’t be separated cleanly, so they become auto shredder residue. This leftover mix is typically landfilled or burned for energy recovery. Some facilities are testing better sorting methods to pull more plastic out of this waste stream.
Is it better to junk my car or recycle it?
If your car runs or has parts still in demand, junking it for resale usually pays more, since parts like the engine or transmission can sell before the rest gets scrapped. If it’s badly damaged or non-running, recycling for scrap metal value is often the faster option.
Are car tires recyclable?
Yes, tires are almost never landfilled whole anymore because they trap methane gas and take up excessive space. Most get shredded into crumb rubber for playgrounds, running tracks, and asphalt, while some are broken down through pyrolysis into oil, gas, and carbon black.
