How to recycle a car (Yes, a WHOLE car!)

As a cab company, we have a lot of cars around. 45 Toyota Priuses to be exact. These cars work extra hard as they drive around almost constantly day in and day out serving our wonderful customers! All that driving puts a lot of wear on a car and, occasionally, our cars get in accidents too, meaning we have a busy garage keeping as many cars on the road as possible! Sometimes, though, a car dies... As was the case with our cab #15. But even after we can't drive them anymore, we want to make good use of our cabs and make sure they aren't wasting away in a landfill! So we recycled it! You may be wondering, how do you recycle a car? Well I'm glad you asked!

After it was totaled, we kept the car for quite a while and used as many parts as possible for repairs on other cabs. In fact, just the other day, we used the computer module from it for another cab!
After we used as much of the car as we could, we had it hauled away to be recycled.

This is what cab 15 looked like as we had it hauled away:

 

 

 

Can you believe it use to look like this?!

 

In case you are super curious about car-recycling, let me give you a few facts about it to soothe your burning questions!
About 65% of a car is made from steel (which was about all that was left of cab 15 when it was taken). Steel is valuable and can easily be used to make other things when recycled. Recycling steel takes 74% less energy than making new metal. It's then cheaper to buy because new steel doesn't have to be mined! All steel produced today has about 25% recycled steel in it and some products are made entirely of recycled steel! "So in addition to the economic and environmental benefits, recycling cars is a vital link in the world's industrial infrastructure."

Cool facts about the world's largest auto shredder:
"Once cars are crushed, they're shipped off to a recycling center where they are shredded and separated into small pieces, which are then sorted into various metals. The largest shredder in the world is used by Sturgis Iron & Metal of Elkhart, Indiana. The machine is so big, it isn't measured in tons, but acres. It uses an 8,000-horsepower electric motor to drive a massive rotor that spins hammers at 175 mph, reducing six pre-crushed cars per minute into fist-sized metal chunks [Source: Buffalo News]. The shredder is so powerful, the hammers must be turned or replaced almost daily because of the wear and tear they receive, and it sits on special dampeners to prevent seismic vibrations in the surrounding area."

My facts about steel recycling were taken from this article at Howstuffworks.com
Grabianowski, Ed. "How Car Crushers Work" 30 June 2011. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-crusher.htm> 31 August 2012.

Phoenix Magazine's Best of the Valley-Vote for us!!

Why Do You Love Clean Air Cab?



Alright people. The time has come for our customers to show their love. The Phoenix Magazine is putting together their annual "Best of the Valley" list, and it's up to all of you to vote us into the top spot!

So you're probably wondering why you should vote for us over Discount, Yellow Cab, VIP, AAA and the countless other taxi services in the valley. The truth is, with so much competition, it's completely understandable to be undecided. Although we may be a smaller fleet than the previously mentioned companies, we have low and competitive fares, non-negotiable core values and we are ever growing and evolving.

Clean Air Cab is locally owned and operated out of Mesa. We only employ drivers whose backgrounds have been checked, who've passed a drug test and have a clean driving record. Everything this company stands for begins with professionalism, integrity and high standards of customer service. These are the elements that set us apart from other companies.

In addition to holding strong values, Clean Air Cab is dedicated to "going green" as well as charitable causes. Our fleet of cabs is the only fleet in the valley that is all "green". We maintain forty-five low-emission 2011 Toyota Prius Hybrid sedans that get an average of 45-50 miles per gallon. How's that for decreasing our carbon footprint?

As for charity, we make sizeable contributions to the ASU Scholarship Fund, Susan G. Komen Foundation, Phoenix Children's Hospital and Mesa United way. In addition to donating to these organizations, we have also planted over 5,000 trees with Trees for the Future, and we partner with Carbon Fund to purchase carbon credits, making us the only carbon neutral taxi fleet in Arizona. As you can see, we clearly stand behind our motto:

“At Clean Air Cab, we provide safe transportation that betters the quality of the environment, making it affordable and convenient for our community to support the growth of alternative energy.”

When voting for the valley’s best cab company, please keep Clean Air Cab in mind. As a company who has customer's best interests at heart, we would love to hear your feedback. It would be an honor to be named as Phoenix Magazine's Best Taxi Company. The only way we can make this happen is if you, our customer, gets the word out! If you have any questions you would like answered or comments you would like addressed before voting, don't hesitate to contact us.

Thank you for your time and happy voting!

To Vote: http://www.phoenixmag.com/best-of-the-valley/

Questions or Comments: makinzy.small@cleanaircab.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/cleanaircab

Twitter: www.twitter.com/cleanaircab

Website: www.cleanaircab.com