36 - Friday, March 27, 1992 — North Shore News

FHEAR CARE

Auto waste can be reduced with consumer’s help

WITH MORE of us getting on the recycling bandwagon, vehicle repair
shops are getting into the spirit, even thougi: the consumers are dragg-

ing their heels a bit.

Even though customers seem
eager to have used materials
recycled when they have been
removed from their vehicles, the
same people have shown 2 reluc-
tance to use recycled materials on
their automobiles, said Ai
Tichauer, manager of Kal Tire.

“They don’t want it back in
their car,’’ he said.

A collection machine allows
mechanics to flush out the anti-
freeze in your vehicle by pumping
the fluid through filters to take
out the contaminates, then ad-
ditives bring it back to the proper
DH ievel.

Finally, new antifreeze is added
to bring the fluid back to a level
where it witi not freeze or boil.

“"vll be just like brand new,”
Tichauer said.

By Pamela Lang
Features Reporter

Despite the reluctance by some
to use recycled anti-freeze, the
process has created a drop in the
price of new anti-freeze (by 2%
times), he said.

New gevernment regulations
also require garages to recover
brake dust, storing it in plastic
bags. But Tichauer says he doesn’t
yet know what will become of it.

“Brake dust may contain
asbestos fibres,’’ he explained.

Many of the items used in a
garage, including batteries, ex-
haust parts, and scrap metal, will
be picked up by other companies.

But part of the problem is find-

ing places to store all of the
items until they are picked up,
Tichauer said.

As well, he added,
costs.””

No-one pays Kal Tire for the
materials that are recovered and
reused from their shop, but he
said they do pay to have much of
the materials hauled away.

They have just signed on with a
company who will collect and
secycle their oil filters, again, for
a fee.

But Tichauer said he still sees a
lot of waste that wouldn’t be nec-
essary if materials were packaged
differently.

“‘All parts come in cardboard,”’
and that doesn’t get picked up, he
said. ,

And again, the bias of the cus-
tomer creates waste when it comes
to engine oil. Tichauer said that
while his used oil is picked up by

“everything

Mohawk f-rr recycling, some cus-
tomers stil! prefer to have neither
recycled nor bulk oil put into their
vehicles, so he still buys plastic
bottles of oil packaged in plastic
and cardboard.

“People have a reluctance to
use bulk,’’ he said.

A recent announcement by the
Ministry of Environment will re-
quire outlets that sell oil to be
able to accept used oil, and that
will reduce the amount of ofl cur-

* rently being washed down the

drain, Tichaver pointed out.

Tires, too, are picked up for
recycling, but, again, that costs
money. He said approximately 250
tires go for recycling every month.

“The government is paying 50
cents a tire to the hauler, and I
pay 35 to 50 cents a tire as well,”
Tichauer explained.

Retreading tires is typically only
done for the larger tires used on

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truck trailers. Although any tire
can be retreaded, the uneven
finish can affect the steering and
ride on a smaller vehicle, he said.

On the other hand, if retreaded
tires on a large truck’s trailer
create an uneven ride, “‘the load
of cattle doesn’t usually care."”

The comments about the costs
of having recyclables removed do
not show a reluctance on
Tichauer’s part to continue trying
to eliminate garbage from his
shop.

But, he pointed out, consumers
may soon have to start paying
“green fees’? if they’ want their
mechanic to ecologically dispose
of the waste created by the car
care industry.

Consumers can also help create
more demand for recycled goods

-by being more accepting of the

use of recycied products on their
own vehicles, said Tichauer.

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