Reframing our relationship to our cars – refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, recycle

Reframing our relationship to our cars – refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, recycle

Should you keep your internal combustion vehicle or buy a new electric car?

In 2019, transport produced 27% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The majority (91%) came from road transport vehicles (111 MtCO2 e), of which cars and taxis were the biggest contributors (61%) [1]. After seeing these figures, Electric Vehicles, or Evs, seem the obvious choice when it comes to choosing your next car. However, the comparisons between EVs and internal combustion vehicles (ICVs) are complex, involving “the size of the vehicles, the accuracy of the fuel-economy estimates used, how electricity emissions are calculated, what driving patterns are assumed, the source of the power used in the production of EVs and for charging them, and even the weather in regions where the vehicles are used” [2]. 

Most of us will be familiar with the ‘5 Rs’ – “Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle”, usually applied to clothing and household items, but what happens if we apply this to our next choice of car?   

Refuse  

Refusing to replace our current vehicles until they can no longer be operated safely is a way in which we can lighten our carbon footprint to help reach net zero by 2050. The production of EVs is resource and energy-intensive – the greenhouse gases associated with producing a 24kWh electric car is a staggering 10 tonnes [2]. To compare, you would have to drive your petrol car doing 29.5mpg for 31,111 miles to produce as much greenhouse gas by burning fuel as a 48kWh EV does by being manufactured [2]. There is embedded energy in every other step of the production process, from the mining for minerals needed for EV batteries to the shipping and distribution of the final product. The production process would need to be optimised to ensure minimal emissions too. For example, the power plants that generate the energy for EV production and charging the batteries would need to be decarbonised on a larger scale. 

Reduce 

It seems obvious, but reducing the amount of time we spend using our cars is another way towards reaching net zero. Opting out of using our cars altogether when we can walk, bike, or use public transport will always be more environmentally sound than driving, regardless of how energy efficient the car may be.  

Reuse & Repair 

Once we have used our vehicles to the point where they need fixing, we should opt to have the vehicle repaired where possible. A lot of us equate a car that needs to be repaired with a car that needs to be replaced, often because repairs can be costly. While it is tempting to invest in a new vehicle if you view your current one as non-functional, from an environmental standpoint it is best to repair what we already own instead of creating demand for new car parts or an entirely new car. According to a study carried out by Allianz Center for Technology in Germany, “the environmental impact is generally lower when a damaged car component is repaired than when a new one is fitted” [3]. 

Recycle 

Finally, once our cars have truly reached the end of their lives and can no longer be repaired, we can send them to a car recycling facility. Although we still have not reached the 95% recycling and recovery target for end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) set out by the government [4], in 2018 our ELV recycling/reuse rate stood at 85.2% which is above the 85% EU target [5]. While these are impressive figures, there will always be non-recyclable hazardous materials that end up in landfills, and emissions coming out of landfills are major polluters.  

As consumers, we vote with our wallets. By choosing to postpone the purchase of a new item, we choose not to support environmentally destructive processes unnecessarily. As stated by writer George Monbiot, “If the aim is greatly to reduce the number of vehicles on the road, and replace those that remain with battery-operated models, then they will be part of the solution” [6]. Simply replacing all ICVs with EVs would get us nowhere – the resources and energy needed to produce new cars in combination with the millions of ICVs that would need to be taken off the roads and recycled would undoubtedly create further environmental chaos.  

References:

[1] Department for Transport. (2021), Transport and Environment Statistics 2021 Annual report [Online]. Available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/984685/transport-and-environment-statistics-2021.pdf 

[2] Parrott, V. (2020) ‘Is keeping my old car greener than buying a new EV?, Boundless, 01/09/2020 [Blog]. Available at https://www.boundless.co.uk/be-inspired/driving/is-keeping-my-old-car-greener-than-buying-a-new-ev 

[3] Wursthorn, S., Feifel, S., Walk, W., Patyk, A. (2010), An environmental comparison of repair versus replacement in vehicle maintenance [Online]. Available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1361920910000313 

[4] Environment Agency. (2017) End of life vehicles (ELVs): guidance for waste sites [Online]. Available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/end-of-life-vehicles-elvs-guidance-for-waste-sites  

[5] White, R. (2020) ‘UK misses ELV target for third consecutive year’, Let’s Recyle, 27/10/2020 [Blog]. Available at https://www.letsrecycle.com/news/uk-misses-elv%E2%80%AFtarget-for%E2%80%AFthird-consecutive-year%E2%80%AF/ 

[6] Monbiot, G. (2020) ‘Electric cars won’t solve our pollution problems – Britain needs a total transport rethink’ The Guardian, 23/09/2020 [Online]. Available at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/23/electric-cars-transport-train-companies