What actually happens to a whole car once it goes through an industrial shredder?
Short answer: After fluids, the battery, tyres, and the catalytic converter are removed, the remaining car body is fed into a shredder that tears it into fist-sized pieces within seconds, and those shredded fragments then pass through magnetic and eddy-current separators that automatically sort ferrous steel from non-ferrous metals like aluminium and copper, leaving behind a residual mix of plastic, foam, and rubber.
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List Free →Depollution happens first
Before a car ever reaches the shredder, it’s “depolluted” — fluids (oil, coolant, fuel, refrigerant), the battery, tyres, and the catalytic converter (valuable separately for its precious metal content) are all removed, since these either contaminate the shredded output or have more value handled separately.
The shredding itself
The stripped body is fed into an industrial shredder — essentially a massive hammer-mill — that tears the whole structure into small fragments in a matter of seconds, dramatically reducing its volume.
Automated sorting afterward
The shredded output passes over magnets to pull out ferrous steel, then through eddy-current separators that use induced magnetic fields to fling out non-ferrous metals like aluminium and copper, leaving a residual stream of plastic, foam, glass, and rubber (see auto shredder residue).
How ScrapTrade Makes This Easier
If you’re scrapping a whole vehicle, ScrapTrade connects you with buyers who handle depollution and the shredding pipeline properly, rather than an unlicensed operator cutting corners.
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