By surpassing its goal of retiring 50,000 vehicles in just 11 months, Retire Your Ride is positively impacting the environment by reducing smog-forming emissions by more than 2,600 tonnes. The program is also successfully encouraging participants to use sustainable transportation - more than one in five participants have decided not to replace their vehicle, but instead walk, bike or use public transit to get around.
For owners of 1995 model year or older vehicles, here are some compelling reasons to participate in Retire Your Ride:
• A car built before 1995 emits 19 times more smog-forming emissions than 2004 and newer vehicles.
• Seventy-five per cent of an average car's content by weight can be recycled.
• If your old car isn't properly drained of its oil, gasoline and refrigerants, and if its mercury switches are not removed, these hazardous materials can end up in Canadian landfills and seep into our air, soil and water.
• Retire Your Ride recyclers reuse components of the vehicles that are safe to reclaim and do not contribute to the vehicle's emissions, thus reducing the need to manufacture new parts.
• Retire Your Ride offers great incentives to Canadians who retire their 1995 and older model year vehicles.
The program will run for another year, until March 31, 2011. More information on car recycling and the program's success is available online at www.retireyourride.ca.
