How Car Recycling Works in Ontario: A Step-by-Step Guide

What happens to a car after it's scrapped?

Most scrapped cars in Ontario follow the same path. A tow truck takes the car to an end-of-life vehicle processor, often called an auto recycler. There, workers remove everything that could pollute or still has value. What's left is crushed, shredded and sorted into metals that are melted down and made into new products.

The process has two goals. The first is keeping fuel, oil, coolant, refrigerant and other hazards out of the soil, water and air. The second is recovering as much value as possible through used parts, precious metals and scrap steel.

Around 75–80% of a typical vehicle by weight can be recycled. The rest is mostly plastic, foam, glass and fabric that's harder to reuse.

How car recycling works, step by step

Every recycler has its own setup, but the order of work is much the same.

Step 1: Intake and records

The car arrives and its vehicle identification number (VIN) is recorded and matched to the paperwork. Clear records protect you and the recycler, and they help keep stolen vehicles out of the system. The car then moves to a depollution area, usually on a sealed surface.
Step 2: Depollution

Before anything else, workers drain the fuel, oil, coolant, brake fluid and other liquids. They recover the air conditioning refrigerant, pull the battery, remove mercury switches from older cars and make the airbags safe. Each material is stored separately for recycling or proper disposal.
Step 3: Parts and valuable materials

Next, usable parts are removed for resale, from engines and transmissions to doors, lights and wheels. The catalytic converter is collected and sent to a refiner for its precious metals. Tires come off for resale or for recycling into new rubber products.
Step 4: Crushing, shredding and sorting

The stripped shell is flattened and trucked to a shredder that tears it into small pieces. Magnets and other sorting equipment separate the steel, aluminum, copper and other metals. The steel goes back to mills, where it's melted down and made into new steel.

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What gets removed before a car is crushed

Depollution is the most important stage for the environment. Here's what comes out of the car and why.

Fuel

Gasoline or diesel is pumped out of the tank and fuel lines. A tank with fuel inside is a fire risk during crushing, and spilled fuel soaks into the ground quickly. Depending on the facility, recovered fuel may be reused or sent for proper disposal.

Engine oil and other lubricants

Motor oil, transmission fluid, gear oil and power steering fluid are drained into sealed containers. The oil filter comes out too, since it holds oil that would otherwise leak during shredding. Used oil can be re-refined into new lubricant or processed for other uses.

Coolant, brake fluid and washer fluid

Antifreeze is toxic and tastes sweet, which makes leaks dangerous to pets and wildlife. It's drained and collected for recycling or disposal. Brake fluid is drained from the lines and reservoir, and the windshield washer tank is emptied as well.

Air conditioning refrigerant

Refrigerant is recovered from the A/C system with sealed equipment rather than released. Many refrigerants damage the ozone layer or trap heat in the atmosphere, and venting them is prohibited. Older and newer cars often use different refrigerants, so each type is captured separately.

Batteries

The 12-volt lead-acid battery is removed and sent to a battery recycler, where the lead, plastic and acid are recovered. Hybrids and electric vehicles also carry a large high-voltage battery, which needs trained staff and its own handling process before it is reused or recycled.

Mercury switches in older cars

Many cars built before the early 2000s have small mercury switches, often in hood or trunk lights and sometimes in anti-lock brake systems. Mercury is a toxic heavy metal, so the switches are removed by hand before shredding. Otherwise the mercury could be released when the steel is melted.

Airbags and seatbelt pretensioners

An airbag that never went off still contains a small explosive charge, and so do seatbelt pretensioners. Recyclers remove them or set them off in a controlled way so they can't fire during crushing. This step protects the people who handle the car later in the process.

Which parts get reused and resold?

Once a car is drained and safe, the recycler looks at what can be sold as a used part. Engines, transmissions, alternators, starters, doors, mirrors, lights, seats and wheels often have plenty of life left. Newer and popular models usually have more parts worth saving.

Used parts are cleaned, checked and sold to repair shops and drivers. Some yards pull the parts themselves, while others let customers remove them. Either way, a used part keeps another car on the road without the energy and raw material needed to make a new one.

Tires with good tread may be resold. Worn ones go to tire recyclers, which turn the rubber into products like mats and playground surfacing.

Why the catalytic converter matters

The catalytic converter is one of the most valuable single parts on an end-of-life car. Inside is a honeycomb coated with small amounts of platinum, palladium and rhodium, metals that clean up exhaust gases. Converters are collected and sent to specialized refiners that recover those metals.

A converter's value depends on its type and on precious metal prices at the time. That's why a missing converter can noticeably lower an offer on a scrap car. If yours was stolen or removed, say so up front. Our guide to what your scrap car is worth covers the other factors that affect price.

Shredding and sorting: how the metal is recovered

With the fluids, hazards and useful parts gone, what's left is mostly a bare metal shell. It's flattened or baled so more cars fit on a truck, then hauled to a shredder, a giant hammer mill that tears it into fist-sized chunks.

Those chunks move along conveyors through several sorting steps:

Powerful magnets pull out ferrous metals, meaning steel and iron.
Eddy current separators and other systems pick out non-ferrous metals like aluminum, copper and brass.
The leftover mix, called shredder residue or fluff, is mostly plastic, foam, rubber, fabric and glass.

That residue is why no car is fully recycled: some is recovered, but much still goes to landfill.

The sorted steel is sold to steel mills, including mills here in Ontario, where it's melted and made into new steel. Making steel from scrap takes far less energy than making it from iron ore. Aluminum and copper go to their own smelters and refiners, and both can be recycled again and again.

Where each part of a scrapped car ends up

A quick reference for each material once your car reaches the recycler.

Material or part	What happens to it	Where it goes
Fuel	Drained into sealed tanks	Reused or sent for proper disposal
Oil and lubricants	Drained, along with the oil filter	Re-refining or other processing
Coolant and brake fluid	Drained and collected	Recycling or proper disposal
A/C refrigerant	Recovered with sealed equipment	Reclaimed or destroyed, never vented
12-volt battery	Removed whole	Battery recycler
Mercury switches (older cars)	Removed by hand	Hazardous waste handling
Usable parts	Removed, cleaned and checked	Repair shops and drivers
Catalytic converter	Collected	Refiners that recover platinum, palladium and rhodium
Tires	Removed	Resale or tire recycling
Steel body and frame	Shredded, then pulled out by magnets	Steel mills
Aluminum, copper and brass	Separated after shredding	Smelters and refiners
Plastic, foam, glass and fabric	Left over after sorting	Partly recovered, much still landfilled

Who is allowed to recycle cars in Ontario?

Ontario regulates how end-of-life vehicles are handled. Processors must be licensed or registered with the province and follow rules for storing vehicles, draining fluids and managing hazardous parts. The aim is to keep fluids and hazardous materials out of the environment.

For you, the practical point is simple: ask any buyer where your car will end up. Every car we buy goes to a licensed Ontario recycler, and you can read more about our auto recycling service. See our service areas for where we pick up.

What you need to do before your car is recycled

The recycler handles the heavy work, but a few steps are yours:

Take out personal items, including anything in the trunk, glovebox and under the seats.
Remove your licence plates before we tow the car. In Ontario, plates belong to you, not the vehicle, so you can keep them for your next car or return them to ServiceOntario. See what to do with your licence plates.
Have your ownership (vehicle permit) and photo ID ready to sign the car over.
Leave the fluids, battery and parts where they are.

Our checklist for preparing your car for pickup covers every step in detail.

Car recycling questions, answered

Still have a question? Call (289) 349-2006 and ask a real person.

What percentage of a car can be recycled?

Around 75–80% of a typical vehicle by weight can be recycled. Most of that is steel and iron, plus aluminum, copper and reusable parts. The rest is mostly plastic, foam, glass and fabric, which is much harder to recycle and often ends up as shredder residue.

What happens to the gas left in my car?

It's drained during depollution, before the car is crushed. Depending on the facility, recovered fuel may be reused or sent for proper disposal. You don't need to empty the tank before you sell, and siphoning fuel at home is a fire risk, so it's best left to the recycler.

Do I need to remove my licence plates before my car is recycled?

Yes. Remove your licence plates before we tow the car. In Ontario, plates belong to you, not the vehicle, so you can keep them for your next car or return them to ServiceOntario. There's no refund for returning them.

Are hybrid and electric car batteries recycled?

Yes, but they need special handling. High-voltage batteries are removed by trained staff and either reused, for example in energy storage, or sent to specialized recyclers that recover metals like nickel, cobalt and lithium. The car's regular 12-volt battery is recycled separately.

Can I sell parts off my car before I scrap it?

You can, but it rarely pays. Your offer is based on the complete car, so removing the battery, converter, wheels or other parts lowers the price. If you want to keep something, like a set of winter tires, tell us before we quote so the offer is accurate.

Is it better to recycle an old car or leave it parked?

Recycling is usually better once a car is past repair. A car sitting for years can leak oil, coolant and fuel into the ground, and its battery can corrode. Sending it to a licensed recycler gets those fluids out safely and puts the metal back to use.