Here on Florida’s Space Coast, we pride ourselves on being in tune with our environment and work hard to protect it. We live in a place where beaches, green space, the Indian River Lagoon and other natural resources are treasured and need to be sustained and retained.
We talk about being an “environmentally friendly” community. The last thing that comes to mind when we think of the automobile industry is that it’s environmentally friendly. Building a vehicle consumes large amounts of energy and raw resources.
So where does the term fit in and how does a windshield repair company fit into the equation? Reducing waste that adds to our already crowded landfills and creates the need for more dumping grounds is one way.
Repair vs Replace?
When you have a chip or crack in your windshield, the options are to repair or replace it. Windshield repair is environmentally friendly in that it saves resources and energy, rather than consuming them, and reduces landfill waste.
Between 70-90% of damaged windshields can be repaired, eliminating the need to contribute to our solid waste nightmares. As your Brevard County auto glass repair professionals, we are proud to say that windshield repair is a safe, emissions-free process that reduces the demand for glass and energy waste.
Here at Superglass Windshield Repair, we’re proud to say that what we do leaves a positive impact on our environment and we’re inspired to spread the word. When we can repair your windshield, which is always our first goal, everyone wins. Check out these statistics on windshield manufacturing:
- In making one average 26 lb. windshield:
- 156 gallons of water are used in manufacturing;
- 1,508,000 BTUs of energy are expended; and
- 52 pounds of carbon emissions are expelled.
- Since windshield replacement happens an estimated 45,000 times a day, each day the glass industry uses:
- 7,020,000 gallons of water;
- 67,869,000,000 BTUs of energy; and
- Creates 2,340,000 lbs. of carbon emissions.
You can do the math to get annual numbers but we’d rather not; it’s just too scary!
Where does that glass go?
While some do, many windshield replacement companies don’t recycle the damaged glass they remove, they send it our local landfills. That one windshield being replaced and not repaired adds 26 lbs. of glass – 585 tons annually – to landfills that are already 12% – 15% glass. There it will remain long after we and hundreds of generations after us have passed.
A quote from SeattlePi.com states, “When a dropped glass shatters or a rock chips the car’s windshield, it’s tempting to think of glass as a fragile material. Actually, it’s one of the longest-lasting man-made materials. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services estimates that it takes one million years for a glass bottle to decompose in the environment, with conditions in a landfill even more protected. Glass artifacts from glassmaking’s beginnings in Egypt, around 2000 B.C., still exist.”
Caring for our environment is everyone’s responsibility and we’re happy to be doing our part. If you want to repair your windshield instead of adding glass to our landfills, contact us today!