The Dawn of Recycling
Call them what you want—junkyards, salvage yards, wrecking yards, or scrapyards. In a way, they were the first form of modern-day recycling. Prior to the 1800s, recycling as we know it now was not commonplace. However, with the emergence of the industrial revolution and manufactured goods—especially automobiles—the demand for metal was unprecedented. While other forms of trash sat in landfills, America designated special sites for reusable “trash” such as metal products. These sites became known as junkyards. Old metal from mass-produced products that accumulated in these junkyards became one of the first widely-recycled materials. During the first and second World Wars, scrap metal largely fueled manufacturing efforts.
Auto Parts
When automobiles emerged on the scene in America, their parts quickly began to fill up the junkyards. Everything from full vehicles, to their tiniest inner-workings could be found in these junkyards and reused in functional vehicles to repair or replace broken auto parts. Nowadays, you can find nearly any auto part you could ever want in a junkyard. Parts from makes and models from all over the globe find their way to American salvage yards.
Courtesy of aeroautoparts
